


Never Let Me Go

by whitesplashes



Category: Doctor Who, Whouffaldi - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Photographer, Angst, Attempted Murder, Doctors & Physicians, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hospitals, Humor, Orphanage, Scandal, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, mentions of drug usage, whouffaldi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-09-28 04:43:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 39,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10072298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitesplashes/pseuds/whitesplashes
Summary: Clara Oswald is a successful physician with a heavy past. She spends most of her time buried in work as a distraction, from her pain. This changes when she meets John Smith, a popular photographer, on her operating table who begins to shed rays of sunshine through her dark days. But, what happens when past monsters re-emerge and threaten to destroy her second chance at happiness?





	1. John

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic and I hope you enjoy it. I'm not the best when it comes to writing but I do appreciate any thoughts or comments you may leave behind (please be gentle) :)

Chapter 1

It was another late afternoon at the studio, finishing up post production of the newest photographs for ‘Vogue UK’ magazine’s latest issue. Every month, the models got skinnier, John noticed. If they wanted to advertise all these new make-up products and clothing lines, why not have a healthy, non-skinny model do the job… not someone who looked like you plastered skin over her bones and left to sun dry for a few weeks. Normal women would never look the way the models in his photos did in their attire. No. They weren’t living broomsticks. 

Not that he could say much for himself. He was a model back in his younger days, and quite a bony stick insect as well. But it never mattered for men like it did for women, right? “Society these days…” he grumbled while he trimmed a third of an inch off the already bone dry thigh of his subject on the current photo on his laptop screen. Sometimes he re-edited his work more than three times because they never met the ‘perfect’ standard of how the advertising department and sole product company viewed the ‘look’ and because the models simply appeared ‘fat’. 

“Ridiculous…” he mumbled this time, thinking of how absurd the entire industry and society was on the feminine image. The sound of his cell phone broke him from his thoughts. His ringtone ‘Barbie Girl’ was proudly selected by his young niece, Melody and was threatened that if it were removed, she would never speak to him again. Pretty harsh words coming from a six year old! 

“John Smith”, he answered.

“Johnnnnyyyyyyy. Listen, I can’t pick up Melody after ballet classes tonight. Can you help me out?” came the voice on the other end.

“Boss got you working overtime again?”

“Yeah, stupid new worker was a no show again today. I think she’s doing it to spite me after I pulled her up on flirting with fellow employees”.

“Yikes. No worries. I’ll take care of it,” he concluded, wishing his sister well before hanging up.

Two hours later, John pulled into his sister’s driveway. He quietly opened the door to the backseat and lifted a sleeping Melody out of the car, followed by her pink My Little Pony backpack over his shoulder. He unlocked the front door and put her straight to bed. 

“Night munchkin,” he whispered, planting a kiss on the child’s forehead. It was unfortunate how his sister became a single parent. Donna was happily married to Jack for five years, before he took on leukaemia. He barely lasted two years afterwards. 

The opening of the front door jostled him from a memory of his sister’s distraught, grief stricken face, cradling a twelve-month-old babe in her arms while staring down at her husband’s lifeless face at his funeral. 

“Hey…” greeted Donna as she spotted her older brother coming down the stairs. 

She gave him a quick hug. 

“How are you?” he asked, studying her face.

Bags under the eyes, wrinkles that not even all the concealer in the world could hide, cracked lips… she looked like hell. 

“Could be better, honestly.”

John patted her shoulder, “You need a break Don. This job is killing you”.

“You know it’s not as easy as it sounds. I’m not the most qualified or brilliant person out there,” she countered, biting into her fingernails.

“No, but I just want you to have something better paying and less… stressful.” Donna tilted her head to the side and stared at him blankly. 

“Something will work out eventually Johnny. I have hope.”

He knew that stare all too well. She did it unconsciously anytime she felt stressed and it was no use bantering with her then. It only made her agitated and late night sass was something he was not up for right now.

“Well, Melody’s asleep. You need anything else before I go?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“No. I’m fine. Thanks for everything.”

“Anytime. I’m always here if you need help or want some time to yourself. I have no problem babysitting Melody an-”

“I know, I know’, she cut him off mid-sentence. John stifled a yawn and raked his hand through his hair. “You look exhausted. Better get home.” He simply nodded, gave his sibling a peck on the cheek and left. 

He drove slowly on the very wet road, as he headed east along the main street. Turning onto a secondary road, his mobile went off. Attempting to pull it out of his jacket breast pocket, it fell onto the floor. Taking his eye off the road for a split second, he bent down to grab the device, when he heard a blaring horn. He instantly shot up in his seat, with only seconds to realize he had drifted partly onto the neighbouring lane. He instantly jerked the steering wheel to put himself back on the correct side. He pulled over on the shoulder, keeping the car in idle and retrieved his phone.

One missed call.

As the call log screen popped up, he saw that it was from Donna. Did he forget something at the house? Was she and Melody okay? Worry came over him, and he hit the dial button. No answer. He quickly pulled back onto the road and dialed again. Phone in hand and steering wheel in the other, he frowned as the call again went unanswered. For a second he took his eyes off the road to glance at his phone screen and then back up, only to notice too late the crossing pedestrian. Instinctively, he swerved the car away for the individual, picking up a skid and then colliding head on with two vehicles from incoming traffic on the opposing lane. 

The last thing John remembered was a warm, wet feeling over his face and a shot of pain through his legs and stomach, before all went black.


	2. Doctor Oswald

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for taking time to read my first chapter! Also, many thanks for the comments and kudos. I hope to not disappoint you all! Plenty dialogue in this chapter... bear with me >_

Chapter 2

The distant sound of voices stirred him from his foggy state, as he cracked his eyelids. There was a blurry masked face over him, all in blue and shining bright lights above. The room was cold and smelt like antiseptic.

‘Hey, I think he’s awake!’ someone alerted.

It sounded like a man, all brusque and down to business. 

‘Where am I?’ John slurred, trying to lift his hand up to cover his eyes. 

‘Sir, we need you to keep your arms down and stay still.’ 

‘Where am I?’ he asked again. 

This time, a female voice answered. ‘You’re in the operating room. Just relax.’ 

The operating room. That meant he was in the hospital. Oh no. Donna. Did she know? Was she worried? John began to panic. The heart monitor registered his changed state and the female voice spoke to him again. 

‘Hey, hey… calm down. It’s going to be alright.’ She took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

‘My sister…’ he started. ‘I can’t leave her. She needs me…’ 

He held onto the woman’s hand, as a tear rolled down his cheek. A finger gently brushed it away.

‘I’m going to make sure you get back to her. Okay?’ she soothed. 

‘Promise?’ he whispered, thinking of how Donna would react if she found her last remaining family, died.

‘I promise,’ was the reply, followed by a sharp sting in his arm. Before John could react, he found himself drifting into a deep slumber.

 

Three days later...

John awoke with a splitting headache and an aching body. 

‘Uncle Johnny!!!!’ screamed the excited voice of his one and only niece. 

Melody instantly climbed up onto the hospital bed and threw herself on top of him. John yelped in pain, at the sudden weight but didn’t mind in the least. 

‘Hey princess,’ he greeted with a toothy grin. Melody rest her head on his chest and held him tight. 

‘I’m glad you’re awake uncle Johnny. I was worried you went to visit daddy in heaven,’ she scolded. 

He wrapped his arm around the child and released a shaky sigh. ‘I’m not going anywhere kiddo.’ 

His eyes stung at the thought of him never seeing her or Donna again. The door to the room opened and Donna stepped in chatting with a rather attractive young woman, dressed in a white lab coat armed with a stethoscope. She must be his doctor. God, he hoped she was his doctor. She was beautiful, with her long brown hair twisted into a bun, brown eyes alert and attentative. She was tiny, yet slender built, with hands small but surely deadly when armed with a scalpel. 

‘Melody! Get off your uncle!’ scolded the child’s mother. 

‘It’s fine Donna…’ groaned John. It took her a few seconds to register that he was awake. 

‘Oh my God!’ she rushed over and whacked him in the shoulder with her handbag. ‘What the hell were you thinking?!’

John cringed at the high pitch of her voice. ‘Ow! You mind lowering your decibel usage?’ he complained.

‘Shut up! Don’t you know it’s dangerous to use your phone and drive, you twit?’ Oh, so that’s what she was worked up about. So much for being pampered by little sister after a near death experience. 

‘You tried to call me while I was driving!’ he countered. 

She scowled at him, ‘Yes. But then remembered you were and hung up.’ 

‘Well I got worried!’

‘You should have known better, idiot!’

‘Mommy, Uncle Johnny isn’t feeling well. Please be nice to him,’ aided Melody who seemed to have enough of the bantering between the siblings. 

‘She’s right. Mr. Smith does need his rest and arguing is not going to make him heal faster,’ came the other woman from across the room. All attention fell on her.

‘Right… Well, I’ve got to go to work and Melody’s got school,’ said Donna, after a few moments. She looked John in the eye, then leaned over his bed and kissed his forehead. 

‘Glad to have you back, mate. I’m so glad I’m the better-looking child. The accident really shows how ugly you are,’ she teased before dragging a protesting Melody out the hospital room.

‘Nice family you got there. I’m Dr. Oswald,’ announced the young lady. 

Her voice rung all kinds of bells in his head. He heard it before, but where? Think. She walked over to his bedside and gathered the data off the various machines he was hooked up to, checked his IV bag, vitals and bandages. 

‘Everything seems to be fine…’ she noted more to herself than him, scribbling notes on her notepad. 

‘Do you have any pain anywhere?’

‘Just in my leg and my stomach area feels funny.’

She nodded as she continued her note-taking. ‘What happened to me …?’

‘You were in a vehicular accident. Drove into incoming traffic. You were lucky unlike the other victims.’

Other victims? Oh God. Of all things in John’s life, he never thought he’d be responsible for murdering people. 

‘How many?’

‘Two.’

‘Oh God… What have I done?’ he moaned, burying his face in his hands.

‘They’re not dead, if that’s what you’re thinking. Both are stabilized, just they didn’t walk away half as injured as you are,’ she explained.

To his relief, he looked up at her, his caterpillar for eyebrows almost meeting the center of his forehead. 

‘So, I didn’t kill anyone?’

‘No.’

‘It’s still my fault. If I hadn’t been using my phone while driving…’

‘What you were doing, seconds before the accident should teach you a lesson and be a constant reminder of what to not do in the future, Mr. Smith’, she stated firmly.

‘Yes ma’am.’

‘Dr. Oswald,’ she corrected, glancing at the clock on the wall.

He smirked. ‘How bad are my injuries?’

‘Laceration on upper right thigh. Pretty deep, but no damage was done to the nerves or artery. It will however, leave a nasty scar. So, unless you plan to go swimming in a pool anytime soon, speedos might not be the best option.’

‘It’s nice that you’re concerned about my scar and not that I’m 53 and all my sag is what I should be more conscious about doc.’

The corners of her mouth curled, her face amused. ‘And here I thought all older men, believed they had the body of Gods.’ 

John chuckled. ‘I do have the body of a God. Ever heard of Buddah?’

Doctor Oswald burst out laughing. John laughed along with her and couldn’t help but notice how lovely she looked when she smiled.

‘Your stomach had some pretty bad bruises. It may have been a result of the collision. There was some internal bleeding, but again nothing major.’

‘So, I’m ready to go?’ he inquired.

‘Not yet. This is the first time since you’ve been here, that you are fully conscious. I need to monitor you for a couple of days before I think you’re okay to be on your own.’

She tucked her notepad under her arm and proceeded to the exit. ‘I’ll see you around Mr. Smith.’

Indeed, he thought. This was going to be a very interesting stay and he was absolutely looking forward to seeing the beautiful Dr. Oswald, again.


	3. The past still hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a secret. Let's see what Clara's is!

Chapter 3

Dr. Clara Oswald dropped herself onto her office chair with a loud thud. Her feet ached and she was starving. An entire day doing patient check-ups and follow-ups had made her skip lunch, again. She pulled open her desk drawer and grabbed a granola bar. How Clara loathed cereal, but for the sake of stopping her stomach from grumbling, she stuffed it down with a bottle of water under two minutes.

A knock resonated from outside, followed by a lovely red-head popping her head through the doorway. 

‘Busy?’

Clara shook her head, beckoning the young woman to enter. 

‘Shut the door behind you,’ she ordered.

‘What do I owe the pleasure Ms. Pond?’

‘Not sure you’re going to be able to call me that very soon, Clara,’ she sang, twirling around the small space like a happy five-year-old.

‘Okay, hold up. Did something happen?’

Amy sat on the desk and held out her left hand, flexing the small diamond ring on her marriage finger. Clara grabbed her friend’s wrist and looked up at her wide eyed.

‘Rory proposed?!’

Amy nodded frantically and Clara crawled onto her table to embrace her friend. 

‘Oh, my God!!!’ she screamed excitedly. ‘When’s the wedding?’

‘We’re not sure yet, but we were thinking sometime in June.’

‘June? That’s three months from now… you got a lot to plan!’ Dr. Oswald panicked.

‘Don’t worry, because I’m not,’ came Amy, her face glowing with happiness.

‘I’m so happy for you, Pond.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was twelve thirty when Clara parked into her garage. Amy had insisted on the two of them celebrating the occasion at a local bar, with a couple of their fellow hospital staff, her friend’s husband to be, Rory Williams. It was all pure fun. A couple rounds of tequila shots, some karaoke which she sucked at and being asked to fill the position of the maid of honour. Clara replayed the evening’s events as she snuggled under the covers of her warm bed. 

Life as a doctor had its perks and cons. The social status with the prefix was nice, and the high recognition and respect from peers was always welcomed. She spread her arm out, feeling the empty space beside her. The long hours however, made it difficult to meet someone, far less have any quality time to herself. Three years ago, she was engaged to a wealthy entrepreneur, Danny Pink. They met at a hotel she was staying at in Paris, while attending an international conference. He was charming and swept her off her feet with ease. He had shown her wonders, life beyond the hospital walls. 

It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with him and him with her, or so she thought. The night he had proposed to her, they were on a yacht off the coast of the British Virgin Islands. The stars had seemed to sparkle even brighter that evening when he went on one knee and popped the question. She didn’t hesitate to say yes, and not long after they were entwined and rolling around in the sheets.

Six months into their engagement, the hospital she worked at became short staffed, after an outbreak of chicken pox on her ward. Luckily, she was vaccinated against the virus and was required to work overtime for several months. Danny however, did not take it very well. He accused her of using her job to evade spending time with him, which clearly was not true. Eventually their verbal communication broke down and they spoke only on a physical level. Danny became rough and sometimes so animalistic, he left bruises on her body that took days to fade and was despondent to her outcries. One evening, she came home beyond her usual hours after events normalized at work and found him in bed with another woman. Opposing and yelling at him for his betrayal, he snapped; slapping her several times and kicking her out his mansion.

He threw all her belongings out the door, hurling endless profanities, while the neighbours looked on behind their window curtains. It was the most humiliating moment in her life. She left everything, and drove all the way to Amy’s, crying uncontrollably. The following week, any money he had given her was withdrawn from her account, all other novelties seized, including her engagement ring. Thankfully, Amy let her stay at her house till she could find her bearings and start afresh.

Tears rolled down her cheek as she pulled her knees to her chest and broke into sobs. Three years and it still ate at her. Most days she hid it behind a smile. Clara convinced Amy she was fine, but the truth be told, she was lonely and hurting; and having no living relatives made it harder. She did not want to take advantage of Amy’s kindness and burden her with her problems, so she kept them to herself. 

Clara considered seeing a therapist, to help ease the stress of her past. However, in the medical profession, everyone was connected. She clearly would not entertain having her confidential information leaked. When she could find a moment, she would go to the children’s orphanage nearby and offer her services free of charge. Sometimes, she would bring them little tokens, be it a new book or a stuffed animal when she popped into a charity shop, just to put a smile on their faces.

There was something about children that warmed her heart. Or was it that she wanted them, when she thought she was going to marry Danny? She never knew really, except that being around them made her happier. One day, she hoped the pain would leave and her entire world would be filled with laughter and happiness and she would find someone who would love her till the end of her days.


	4. C for Clara

Chapter 4

‘That’s disgusting!’ complained John, as he spat out a piece of toast. 

‘Well, you have to eat sir. Strict orders from the doctor,’ said Rory, his assigned nurse. 

‘Everything alright, Rory?’ asked Clara as she made her way in to see her patient. 

John’s face instantly lit up as he saw his lovely doctor. It’d been a week since the accident and John was under her good care. She wasn’t much of a chatty person, but in the routine morning visits, he managed to get a few words out of her, even make her laugh. He learnt she was from Blackpool originally, moved to London and worked in a clinic as an intern. Apparently, her, Rory and his fiancé Amy, who was also a nurse in the hospital, all worked as interns in the same institute a couple years back. 

After that, they all moved on to separate hospitals around the country, before coincidentally meeting back up at the current one they were in now. Her favourite colour was something called TARDIS blue and she loved cats. His goal for today, was to learn what her first name was. The first time he asked, she hinted it began with a consonant. The second time, she clued that the letter was in the first half of the alphabet. Today, he hoped to at least guess correctly or get a better lead.

‘Mr. Smith refuses to have his meal.’

She nodded and took a seat at his bedside. 

‘I’ll take care of it. Thank you,’ she dismissed and watched as Rory left the two of them.

‘Good morning Dr. Oswald, he greeted cheerily pushing his tray of food aside. Clara pushed the tray back at him and looked at the food and then him.   
An unspoken message. 

He whined. She raised an eye brow at him, to which he frowned in return. 

She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. He huffed and rolled his eyes.

‘Fine, but you try hospital food for once’, he winced, as he chewed on a piece of carrot. Clara chuckled and watched as he downed it all.

‘Enjoyed your meal?’ she taunted. He glared at her and then pouted. 

‘That was pure evil,’ he retorted.

She chuckled again. ‘How are you feeling, today?’

‘Aside from the meal, I’m better… are the stitches ready for removal yet?’ She whipped on a pair of gloves and proceeded to lift his paper gown.

‘Excited to get under there?’ he teased. 

‘I highly doubt there’s anything under there that would get me excited, Mr. Smith.’

‘Now that was just cold, Doctor Oswald,’ he said with a frown. 

As the bandage around his thigh was removed, Dr. Oswald prodded the area with her fingers. 

‘Healing quite nicely. Stitches should be out in the next week,’ she informed.

She lifted the rest of his gown, to reveal his stomach, while John clutched a sheet tightly over his manhood. The bandages had been removed a day ago, and the purple tint on his skin was fading rather quickly. Clara nodded in approval after a short poke here and there and covered him back up.

‘From the looks of it, you’re ready to go home, Mr. Smith,’ she chimed.

John straightened his back and stared at her, earning a smile. He was thrilled to be discharged and go back to his normal life, but at the same time, he was a tad disappointed. It didn’t take rocket science for him to realize he was attracted to her. Hell, he was more than attracted, he liked her. A lot. 

‘Mr. Smith?’ her voice knocked him back into reality. ‘Did you hear what I just said?’

He nodded and watched as she rose from her chair. ‘I’ll have someone call your family and arrange for your pick-up.’ 

‘Here’s a list of antibiotics you should take for the next two weeks and this is your referral to remove your stitches,’ she explained, handing him a sheet of paper with the information.

He scanned it and read aloud, ‘Dr. Jones?’

‘Yes. She’s the Doctor who will be responsible for your follow ups.’

John was not happy with the change in physicians and it must have shown as Dr. Oswald cleared her throat, to gain his attention. His gaze drifted to her face, which looked slightly amused. 

‘I thought you were going to be the one to do my post-surgery check-ups, after I was discharged.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Dr. Jones takes good care of you. You take care Mr. Smith,’ she concluded, making her way for the door.

‘It starts with a J, doesn’t it?’

Clara spun around on her heels and smirked. ‘Nope.’

‘Well, seeing that I’ll be leaving before the day’s end, will I ever know?’

She chuckled and exited the room. John swore under his breath before the door cracked open a fraction and she popped her head through.

‘It’s the letter C. C for Clara.’  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Clara set her clipboard down at the nurse’s station and filled herself a cup of water. That John Smith was surely a character and if she were being honest with herself, she was going to miss him, or rather their little conversations. He was different unlike the other patients. For a man his age, he was quite upbeat and dare she say it, charming. For the week, he was under her care, she looked forward to their little chats, despite he did most of the talking. There was just something about the way he put the words together that made her laugh. It was unfortunate that she would never see him again. He would have been someone good to have around. Someone to talk to.

‘Hey,’ came a familiar voice from behind her. 

‘Hello future Mrs. Williams,’ she greeted.

‘Everything alright?’

‘Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?’

‘Because you look a bit sad. Did something happen?’

Clara shook her head. ‘No. Just discharged one of my patients a few minutes ago.’

Amy raised an eyebrow and shuffled closer to her. ‘Was it that silver fox you’ve been treating, that kept giving Rory beans about the food?’

Her question rewarded her with a side-eye glance from the young doctor. Amy folded her arms and leaned against the wall, beefing herself up for juicy details.

‘So, I guessed correctly? I did notice you always came out of that room smiling.’

‘It’s nothing’, she said, quickly brushing her off. 

‘Uh-huh. It’s fine to admit if you fancy your patient you know. Or should I say, ex-patient?’

‘It’s nothing like that. Leave it alone, Amy,’ warned Clara before storming towards her office.

She watched as her pal stalked off in annoyance. To be worked up over the mention of a name following an assumption, certainly could not be nothing. Something was up, whether Clara was willing to admit it or not, and Amy was going to find out exactly what.


	5. The apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
>  I've come down with the flu and it's been rough. Had to take a sick leave, because its been that bad and haven't had the strength to update or even continue with the story.  
> Feeling a tad better today, so here's your update. Hope you are enjoying the story thus far. I'm certainly enjoying writing it.
> 
> Also, thank you for all the comments and incoming kudos. Really means a lot to me!

Chapter 5

John lay in bed in nothing but his underpants, relishing the feel of a warm bath, fresh shave and extra clean clothes. It was good to be out of that hospital bed and in his own familiar surroundings. Donna had picked him up and drove him home, delivered his medicine, made him some soup and spent the night, along with Melody. He noticed his cellphone on the nightstand beside his bed. Luckily it survived the crash and it filled John’s heart with dread, as he thought of all the missed calls and appointments that were waiting for him. Reluctantly, he stretched across the bed and powered it on. 47 missed calls, 34 new messages and 25 new voice mail.

He groaned and tossed the phone aside. It was all too soon to deal with everything but he had enough rest. 

A shuffling sound caught his attention, as Donna strolled into his bedroom. ‘Oi, old man.’

‘Oi to yourself, earth girl,’ he groaned, sitting up. ‘How ya feeling? Took those meds?’ queried his sister, in a motherly tone. 

‘Yes, mother.’

Donna rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of the bed. 

‘I need to apologize to you.’

John looked at her questioningly and waited for her to continue.

‘That night, you told me if I needed any help, I could count on you and I stopped you from saying it, because I didn’t want to come across needy or dependent on your help,’ she began.

‘I know you’re aware things have been difficult for me since Jack died and there’s a lot of debts I have to pay off. I just sometimes wished things were different for me. For Melody. I am so tired and frustrated and I don’t want people or you to pity me. I know you’re just being my big brother and looking after me and I really appreciate it. But, I think it was harsh to cut you off, the way I did that night.’ 

She drew in a shaky breath.

‘I felt terrible after you left and wanted to apologize, but when I looked at the time, I figured you were still driving. Then five minutes after, you were calling me and I figured, better not to answer the phone because it’s dangerous to use your mobile and drive. Next thing you know, the hospital is calling me half an hour later, saying you were in an accident. I thought, oh God, what have I done?’ 

Her voice cracked and she swiftly wiped away her tears.

‘Here I figured I lost the one person I had left, who cared for me and it was all my fault and the last thing I did was be a total arse, towards him.’ John embraced his sister.   
‘It’s not your fault and I’m fine. Don’t eat yourself up over trivial things,’ he soothed. 

They both sat silently, till Donna calmed down.

‘Mommy?’ called Melody from a distance. 

‘In the bedroom!’ answered the siblings in unison. 

Seconds later, the little girl waltzed in, her little yellow dress covered in glitter. ‘Someone’s been busy,’ noted her mother out loud. 

‘What you got there?’ asked her uncle, curiously. Melody climbed onto his lap and handed him a white envelope she had tucked under her little arm. He opened it and found a homemade card, decorated in an assortment of glitter and macaroni on the cover. Inside it read ‘Welcome home Uncle Johnny! Love Melody.’ He cradled the child lovingly in his arms and gave her a big kiss atop her head

‘Thank you sweetheart,’ he said with as much gratitude he could muster. He was truly touched. 

After Donna and Melody left, John began doing damage control; rescheduling appointments, following up on post-photo production, contacting models and advertising companies along with various magazine editors, a local florist and most importantly, the auto-body shop. He was buried up to his neck in work and despite having a currently healing injury, there was no rest for him. The photographer, having already scheduled a hectic day ahead, produced a pair of keys from inside a locked box on top of his bookcase and headed towards the garage. It wasn’t long before he turned the ignition and was on the road, riding his long-lost motorcycle. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clara arrived at work late that morning, having spent the night before awake in bed with insomnia. Her sleeping patterns were beginning to get erratic and the deprivation in time, would begin affecting her physical and mental functioning. She dumped her bag in her office, not even giving the paperwork that seemed to triple overnight a second glance and then stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting in the middle of her desk, was a huge vase of blue irises. Slowly, the young doctor approached it, plucking the small card amongst the assortment. It read:

All my gratitude and thanks to a wonderful Doctor. 

May your kindness continue to touch the hearts of others.

P.S. The florist had no idea what TARDIS blue was, so I opted for this shade.

Yours truly,

John Smith.

Clara re-read the card three times, each time in greater disbelief. This was the first instance a patient had ever done something so nice for her. A small business card fell out of the envelope, landing face up on the floor. It held the name ‘Gallifreyan Graphics and Photo Studio; along with Mr. Smith’s contact information and work address. So, he was a photographer? Interesting, she thought and tucked it into her wallet. 

Amy scuttled into the office without warning. 

‘Whoa! Flowers?’ she asked with a big grin. 

‘Ever heard of knocking, before entering?’ spat Clara, unamused.

‘Someone’s in a mood… So, who’s the secret admirer? Let me guess, the silver fox patient?’ Amy teased, giving her a flirtatious wink.

Clara ignored her and sniffed one of the blossoms. 

‘You can’t ignore me forever Ms. Oswald!’ called Amy.

‘Doctor, Doctor Oswald,’ corrected Clara.

Her response was rewarded with a stiff, middle finger.

‘What do you want, gingersnaps?’

The future Mrs Williams-to-be plopped onto the office couch and crossed her long legs, going into detail of seeing a young man delivering flowers and was curious when she saw him enter Clara’s office. Apparently, it piqued the entire department’s curiosity and that it shouldn’t be a surprise if the nurses and other hospital staff questioned her about whether she had an admirer. People were just so nosy, but then again, if it were someone else she knew, she would also be inquisitive.

‘It’s nothing important. I assure you,’ she tried to convince Amy.

The nurse snatched the note from her grasp and read it out loud. Clara fumed with anger and grabbed it back.

‘I knew it! Rory did tell me you were rather friendly with him!’ 

Oh, she was going to kill Rory. ‘It’s not what it looks like! It’s just a token of thanks!’ countered Dr. Oswald, which only won her a shake of the head from the ginger girl who said, ‘It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. He’s hot and quite frankly, you could use someone in your life right now. I don’t like seeing you alone.’

Her words cut deep. The distraught look on her colleague’s face, made her feel guilty. She knew her history and how much she went through the past couple of years.   
All Amy wanted was for her buddy to find love and be happy. It’d been years since she last saw Clara genuinely smile and laugh the way she did around the silver fox. Maybe he might be the answer her friend was seeking all along?


	6. Wedding Planning

Chapter 6

One month later

‘Claaaarrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!’ moaned Amy as she stomped into her colleague’s kitchen. The house smelled of a heavenly blend of fresh bread and spices. She found the brunette happily kneading a small dough of flour.

‘This wedding is driving me crazy!’

‘Well, you wanted to get married and I did suggest hiring a wedding planner, but noooo,’ her pal rubbed in.

Amy slunk into a chair across the room, rummaging through all the details she had planned. She and Rory agreed on a fairytale theme. They managed to book the wedding and reception at the Hestercombe House, in Somerset, apparently, a place where Amy always dreamed of having her wedding. That was one problem out of the way, but the biggest was the wedding dress design, the wedding cake and acquiring a photographer. 

‘Can’t you just choose something simple? How about Bella’s design from Twilight? That was quite lovely,’ suggested Clara.

‘No. It needs to look fairy tale-ish!’

‘How about something with a princess neckline?’

Amy whipped out her phone and googled the name. She was silent for several moments before she said, ‘This is quite fitting actually. I’ll ask to look at these at the shops.’ Pleased with herself, Clara shoved the raw bread dough into the oven and pulled out the one that was sitting in there before. She grabbed a knife, sliced into it and applied a generous amount of butter and jam on two separate pieces. Pouring a glass of wine, she handed it to her stressed friend and watched the look of satisfaction on her face when she bit into it.

‘So, I suppose you can tick wedding dress off the list temporarily?’

‘For now,’ replied Amy, her mouth full of bread. ‘Now I need a wedding cake designer and a photographer. Everything else Rory said he’d handle. That’s all the guests, catering and favours.’

The two women sat and argued back and forth about different cake designs and went through the scores of brochures from cake shops around the area. Since the distance between London and Somerset was unforgiving, Clara rationed with her pal that having a two-tiered cake at most would be reasonable, and the guest list was going to be small anyway. Not to mention the cost of renting the Hestercombe House that weekend and accommodating kitchen staff was already putting a dent in her funds. 

However, Amy was Clara’s only friend and it was going to be her special day, and agreed to provide a third of the funding towards the wedding. Initially the money she was giving charitably was her personal savings that was intended for her wedding years ago, despite Danny had at the time assured he would take care of everything. She never touched it and was happy to donate it to the cause it existed for, even if it wasn’t her walking the aisle. After two hours of going around in circles, the women decided to take a break and move on to sourcing a photographer. They both searched the web and made endless calls, but they were either too expensive or refused outright to travel outside the London boundary. 

‘This is hopeless,’ whined Amy, until a light went off in Clara’s head. But, it might be a bad idea, wouldn’t it? 

‘I know someone who might take the job.’

Amy propped herself up with one hand and raised an eyebrow, ‘Who?’

Clara produced a small business card from her wallet and held it in the red head’s direction; bracing herself. A cheeky grin formed on Ms. Pond’s face as she recognized the name.

‘Oh, I sure hope he will take the job. I’m gonna call him up, right now!’ she exclaimed mischievously and stepped out the kitchen mobile in hand.

Fifteen minutes later, she re-entered with a broad smile on her face. 

‘Well?’ asked Clara expectantly.

‘We got an appointment to see the silver fox in two weeks. Apparently, he is very busy and getting a booking with him is difficult, or so that bitchy secretary told me over the phone.’

The doctor shook her head and got up to do the dishes. Amy slid up next to her and encouragingly added,’ I want you to be there when we go to see him. A little reunion may be nice.’   
Before she could protest, her buddy quickly added, ‘He might give us a discount. Besides, you don’t want to see your bestie all upset for her wedding, do you?’ 

A low growl came out of her mouth and Amy took it as her cue to leave.

As the front door shut, Clara swore. It was clear as day, that Amy was trying to set her up with her ex-patient. There was nothing between her and Mr. Smith. The entire period she treated him, it was all professional. Nothing more. Why couldn’t her friend leave it be? Besides, he was an old man at least twice her age. That would just look weird, wouldn’t it? The last thing she would ever consider was having a sugar daddy.

After cleaning up, she wrapped all six loaves of bread she made earlier and placed them in a huge picnic basket. Grabbing her favourite blue coat, she scrambled out her house and jumped into her car. Turning the key in the ignition, the engine refused to start. The action was repeated three more times and the situation remained grim. She popped the hood and stared down at the foreign objects in front of her. Cars were like humans, yeah? They got ill too, it was just to find the source of the problem.

A few minutes of fiddling got her nowhere and she shut the lid down in frustration. She was not letting her hard work go to waste. Dr. Oswald held onto her basket tightly and made her way down the street to the orphanage. The kids would love the pumpkin bread she made. Since the first time they tasted it, it was a hit. The thought of their happy faces put a smile on hers and she didn’t notice the car that came to a slow and eventual stop alongside her.

‘Good day Dr. Oswald!’ called a familiar voice from the driver’s seat. She bent down and peered into the vehicle. To her surprise, a cleanly shaved John Smith was staring at her, with a Cheshire cat-like grin on his face. Was that really, Mr. Smith from a month ago? Without the beard, he looked like a completely new person, and his hair was longer and a bit more, gray. Okay, so he was reeeaaaalllyyyy good looking silver fox. God, she just sounded like Amy, she thought to herself.

‘Mr. Smith? What are you doing here?’ she asked in bewilderment.

‘I was passing through. My sister lives a couple of streets from here. Small world eh?’

Clara couldn’t help but laugh. Small world indeed.

‘On your way home?’ he asked, eyeing the basket she clutched protectively. 

‘Um, no. On my way to the orphanage actually,’ she responded a bit insecurely.

‘Need a lift?’ he offered, opening the passenger door before she could reply.

She mentally judged the distance between her current position and the orphanage. It would be a good thirty-minute walk before she got there and decided to accept the invitation.


	7. Orphange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's add a little fluff :)

Chapter 7

The drive to the orphanage was short, with John and Clara exchanging formalities and her asking about how well his injuries were healing, like a normal doctor would do. He had no complications after he left the hospital and Dr. Jones took him under her wing with great care. 

‘Told you Dr. Jones wasn’t so bad,’ chided Clara, as she gazed outside the window.

‘I never said she was, but I never enjoyed her visits,’ added John.

She glanced at him, his eyes fixed on the road. ‘Why is that?’ she asked amused.

‘Simple. She wasn’t you.’

Clara felt her cheeks grow hot. Oh God, was she blushing? Stop it, Clara. He’s just paying you a compliment because you’re an extraordinary doctor, she told herself. Five minutes later, they pulled up at the front of the orphanage. Before Clara could get the door, John was already out of his seat and like a perfect gentleman, opened it for her. She smiled and thanked him.

‘I’ll walk you inside,’ came his next words and although Clara protested, he snatched her basket and headed indoors. 

She followed him, pouting immensely. As they entered, they were greeted by two nuns, Sister Sarah-Jane and Sister Jackie. 

‘So nice to see you Dr. Oswald. The children have been asking for you all week,’ came Sister Sarah-Jane. She noticed John standing behind her, scoping out the place.

‘Is this your father?’ 

John’s attention was immediately seized by that comment and he corrected the nun, ‘No. I’m a friend of the good doctor.’

Both women studied him and Clara, making their own judgements but said nothing. She relieved herself of the basket of bread and was led to the children’s play room with John for company. 

‘Why are you still here?’ she whispered to him as they walked through the doorway. 

‘Curiosity,’ he replied with a wink.

‘Aunty Clara!!!!’ screamed multiple voices. 

She and John whipped around to see a dozen children, no older than Melody running towards them full speed ahead. Instantly she held her arms out and knelt down, embracing them as they tackled her. John stood and laughed as she was obviously outnumbered and tumbled over with the additional weight. 

‘Hello my darlings. Have you all been eating your vegetables?’ she inquired sweetly.

Some nodded, some didn’t. She stood up and held her hands on her hips, looking at those who said no, sternly.

‘Now, you know what happens. You won’t be able to have super-human strength and fight the bad guys off. We don’t want that, do we?’ 

They shook their heads guiltily, before she scooped them into an embrace and made them promise her, that they would. The children seemed to love Dr. Oswald. She was so kind and gentle with them. Watching her interaction with the younglings made his heart melt and he thought it was the sweetest thing he ever saw.

‘Who’s he?’ asked a little blonde boy, pointing to John. 

‘A friend,’ he quickly commented.

‘Like a boyfriend?’ asked another.

‘He can’t be her boyfriend. He’s too old! Aunty Clara is going to marry a handsome prince like in the fairy tales,’ came a little girl.

John felt offended and very conscious of his age now. Kids. He’d have to ask Melody what she thought now, else he’d really feel doomed.

‘Alright. That’s enough,’ warned Clara. 

‘Can you read to us, Aunty Clara?’ they begged.

‘I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t be throw a little dance party?’

Their little faces lit up and they squealed with excitement as Clara went to a shabby cupboard and pulled out an old violin. John looked at her impressed. 

‘You play?’ he asked with a smirk.

‘Prepare to be amazed Mr. Smith,’ she retorted and began playing the notes to popular children’s nursery rhymes. The children sang and danced along to the tunes, circling her and even getting John involved. They all laughed and had a merry time and were sad when it was time for them to leave. Each lined up to receive a hug from Clara and a few even demanded such from John, except for one little girl who asked to touch his hair. 

Clara sank into the car seat as they drove off. Children were nice, but they could really sap your energy. 

‘You were amazing back there’, John complimented.

‘Thanks,’ she replied breathlessly. 

As they drove to her house, she caught sight of a red headed girl and instantly remembered Amy.

‘John?’ she began, carefully.

‘Yes?’

‘My friend, Amy... she’s getting married in less than two months and needs a photographer. I gave her your card and she scheduled an appointment to see you in two weeks, or so your secretary did. She wanted to know if you’d be up to the task,’ she explained.

‘I’m always high in demand with the work that I do, but I’m sure I can work something out. Where is the venue?’

‘Hestercombe House, Somerset.’

John gave a high-pitched whistle. ‘That’s quite a ride.’

‘I know and Amy’s dreamt of having her wedding there for years. We tried calling photographers in the area but they weren’t within our pocket’s grasp and local ones here are the same or are outright refusing to go the distance. You’re pretty much her last resort,’ she pleaded.

John was quiet, his mind far. 

‘This is me, over here,’ Clara stated five minutes later, breaking the silence. She slowly unbuckled her seat belt and glanced at him, assuming he was not up to the task.

‘Well, thank you for the ride, Mr. Smith. Have a good evening.’ 

As the brunette proceeded to exit the car, he finally spoke,’ I’ll do it, free of cost.’

Clara shot around and stared at him in surprise. He granted her a smile. ‘Think of it as payment for saving my life.’

‘I can’t do that! You have to make a living,’ she disagreed. 

‘I’ll manage. Tell your friend I’m looking forward to meeting her.’

‘No. I refuse to accept your services for no charge. At least, let me pay half your usual fees if you won’t take anything,’ Clara bargained.

John seemed to consider it and then asked, ‘Are you going to be there?’

‘Yes. I’m the maid of honour. Why?’

‘I’ll make you a deal. You pay only for travelling costs. That’s gas and snacks for the ride.’

‘Alright, I can do that.’

‘But…’

She looked at him warily. ‘But what?’

‘You have to save a dance for me at the wedding and be present when your friend pops by for her appointment.’

She pondered for a moment and then found herself agreeing, before a fit of giggles escaped her lips over the silliness of the terms of their little deal. 

‘You are the really something Mr. Smith. I don’t know how you make me laugh, so much.’

‘Laughter is the best medicine. Besides, you look lovely when you smile,’ he commended.

‘Good day Mr. Smith,’ dismissed Clara jumping out of his vehicle and briskly walked up to her front door. 

Her heart was pounding and it wasn’t from the slight exercise a minute ago. She entered her home and peeked out her front window, from behind the curtains.  
John had already driven off. Good grief. Clara was never one to be easily flattered but with John… she couldn’t help but react to his kind words. She always found herself smiling around him. This had never happened before. No. Not since Danny… She placed a hand over her heart and felt it racing wildly in her chest. What on earth was going on?


	8. Nightmare Alert!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens when you have to work with people who make your life hell? >_

Chapter 8

Clara took a cab to work the next morning, having called a tow truck to drop her car off at the mechanic’s. As she hustled through the A&E doors, she was greeted by a frantic Amy racing down the hallway in her direction. The ginger grabbed her friend’s wrist and discreetly dragged her into a nearby supply closet. 

‘Nightmare alert!’ warned Amy, peeking through a crack in the door. 

‘Missy is our new head of department…’

‘Oh my stars!’ gasped Clara in complete horror. ‘Word just got out and she called a staff meeting scheduled in an hour.’

Clara rubbed her eyes, digesting the news. Perfect. Missy Saxon as the head of the accident, emergency and trauma department. This was a classic case of life throwing a lemon.

‘How the hell could she be head? I thought River was getting the post?’ she begged to reason.

‘I heard rumours from Jenny and Vastra that she had a connection inside. Trust me, the entire department staff is unhappy about it.’

Clara and Amy jumped as Missy’s voice rung from the other side of the closet.

‘I know you two are in there. Come on out.’

Amy and Clara groaned in unison and exchanged pained looks before stepping out.

‘Isn’t it my two favourite co-workers!’ she dictated. The eye liner rimming her eyes made them look more bulbous than they normally were, and her devil red lipstick added to her sinister aura. 

‘Closet party?’

‘Picking up supplies, Dr. Saxon,’ covered Amy.

‘Really? I wasn’t aware that syringes and needles were so heavy, they required two people to carry them.’

They remained quiet.

‘Staff meeting is at nine. We have lots to discuss and many changes to be made. Now, run along and try not to hide. I will find you,’ she said with a cackle and stalked off to fill someone else’s day with terror.

Dr. Missy Saxon. The hospital’s second senior cardiologist, female Freddy from Nightmare on Elm Street, plain trouble and no doubt a pain in the arse. She was the kind of person, when they smiled, a puppy died. Every staff member who worked with her had a story to tell. As nine o’clock came around, everyone gathered for her briefing at the hospital auditorium. Standing before fifty plus employees, her stance was strong, her face cunning. Her address was boring as hell, right until she began reading off a bunch of regulation changes she deemed best for the department. 

‘Kill me now!’ grunted Rory, as he shuffled into his station with Amy and Clara on his heels after the meeting ended.

‘An entire extra hour after work, dedicated to inventory checks and book keeping every bloody evening from now on! We have people specifically employed to do that!’ His fiancé ruffled his hair and took a seat beside him. 

‘Not to mention we’ve been clamped down on uniforms. Since when wearing scrubs have been a bad thing? Now I have no choice but to wear my all whites and horrible tights… ugh!’ complained Amy. 

Clara sprawled out on the mini sofa adjacent to her colleagues. ‘It is regulation but a two-day deadline to file and close patient reports and records is crazy! That’s something you can’t rush and they stopped shipping certain drugs from our leading companies, to skimp on hospital finances. Now patients are going to have to purchase them outside the hospital walls which are at least twice more expensive… not to mention the stuff we’re going to get from now on will be either generic or cost a fortune!’ she threw in. 

The trio slouched defeatedly in their seats. Missy’s terror had already begun and it wasn’t a full twenty-four hours she had been in her new post.

‘Pond!’ called an incoming voice. 

Amy instantly stood up. Missy was holding a clipboard with a thick stack of paper attached as she approached the young woman.

‘We need you down in the trauma bay. Lots of bloody gashes to clean from three construction workers, all in their mid-forties, might need some stitches,’ she briefed, chucking the stationary into her hands. 

‘Mr. Williams, Dr. Davis needs an extra pair of hands in trauma bay six and Dr. Oswald…’ she looked the brunette up and down slowly, ‘you can get me a coffee.’

Clara raised an eyebrow. ‘Excuse me?’ Missy gave a feline smile. ‘You heard me, darling. Fetch me a coffee.’ 

She folded her arms and stared up at the much older woman and to her face replied, ‘I’m not your delivery girl. I’m a doctor.’ 

Her new head and boss narrowed her eyes and smirked. 

‘Oh yes, indeed. Well then, I believe you have tons of paper-work to do, isn’t that so?’ Clara felt uneasy. 

Although she knew she had no paper work to do because she had finished it all the other day, her gut suspected something was up; and boy was it right. Lying on her desk were three boxes of files awaiting her. She slammed her door and swore. 

Around mid-afternoon, she was able to complete one box. Whoever did the filing system for these things did not have one clue what they were doing, not to mention judging from the dates, they were either long forgotten or neglected. Sometimes standing up for yourself, just made things bad and Missy was not someone to take lightly. Suddenly, an evil idea popped into her little head. Oh, she was going to make Missy pay for this. Dr. Oswald, should never be taken for granted. Ever.

It was after ten in the evening when Clara finished off the last box. She headed to the kitchen and made a fresh, steaming cup of coffee with the perfect ratio of milk to sugar. Looking around her, she dunked in half a bottle of milk of magnesia, added more sugar and milk and headed for Missy’s office. 

‘Come in,’ called the tired, drawn out voice of the old witch. 

‘Ah, Dr. Oswald. What can I do for you?’ she acknowledged. 

‘It’s late and I know we all need the extra fuel this hour. Here’s my apology for earlier. Extra milk and sugar,’ she announced sweetly, setting the ceramic mug down onto her workspace. 

Missy grinned, victoriously. ‘Thank you, Dr. Oswald.’ 

She held it up and took a big chug. ‘Yummy. I take it you’re done with those boxes?’ she queried, innocently. 

Clara fought off a smile and nodded. ‘Okay, well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,’ she said, sending her off. ‘You really know how to make coffee!’ she called as the young woman exited. 

Amy bent the corner and looked utterly exhausted. Clara wrapped her arms around her pal and packed up for the night. Half hour later, as they strolled towards the hospital’s main exit; they could hear Missy shouting with urgency, followed by loud protests from staff members and the faint smell of good, old diarrhea. Clara grinned evilly. Amy smelled a rat and glanced at her. 

‘You know something I don’t?’ she questioned. 

She gave a sleepy smile and responded, ‘Revenge.’


	9. Accidental Spying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unintentional, you think? ;)

Chapter 9

John bit into an eggroll as he powered on his laptop. It was a crazy day at the studio. Four models came down with food poisoning and they had to get replacements, which was a lot harder than it sounded. Luckily, he had good connections with the right people and winged it. Every photoshoot with ‘Dior’ always imposed some dramatic situation and he was getting too old to handle this sort of stress. After wrapping up a rather early session, he decided to download his day’s work onto his hard-drive and head home.

That all changed when Donna popped by minutes later, with Melody and a box of fish and chips. Donna wanted some time to relax and had asked John to watch her daughter for a couple hours. With the shift of events, he decided to begin editing with Melody happily glued to his lap, assuming the role of ‘button presser’. 

‘They’re all so skinny,’ she noticed when he opened his newest photo. 

‘I know. I never want to see you look like these women. Ever. Deal?’ he proposed to the child. 

She looked up at him and gave a big nod. ‘They’re not very pretty either,’ she criticized. 

John chuckled although he had to disagree with Melody. Many of the women he photographed were beyond beautiful. Any man his age or younger would love to be in his position, he was certain. However, he kept all his interactions professional, despite the occasional flirt or ‘casual coffee’ invites he received from time to time. 

‘Well, who do you find pretty then?’ he asked, displaying a collage of over thirty models on his monitor.

Melody leaned forward and studied each of the faces carefully. She pointed at a blonde named Rose and declared her the prettiest of them all. When he asked why, she simply said it was because she had nice hair. 

‘But I know someone who is even prettier than her,’ she said all of a sudden. 

John frowned and asked, ‘Who?’

‘Dr. Oswald from the hospital.’

The old man was taken aback. ‘What do you think Uncle Johnny?’ she implored. 

‘I think you’re right. Dr. Oswald is very pretty,’ he finally said.

Melody seemed satisfied with his answer and moved into his green recliner. As the hours rolled by, John grew tired and called it quits. As he sank back into his chair, his mind gushed with thoughts of Dr. Oswald. Strange of Melody to mention her. He recalled yesterday’s trip to the orphanage. He meant to leave but got caught up with her suspicious basket that smelled delightfully of baked goods… and because he was being a nosy old fart. I mean, wouldn’t you find it odd for a young woman to visit an orphanage? Her motives were surprising and he had never seen someone shower another person’s child with so much affection. She was a graceful, beautiful person, especially when playing the violin. Never had a woman taken his breath away, like Dr. Oswald did. He tried in vain ever since he was discharged from the hospital, to keep his distance. 

A person like her would never be interested in a shrivelled prune. A part of him was still hopeful and that’s where he got the idea to send her flowers and his business card. When no reply came, he accepted that she was not interested and forced her out of his thoughts. But then… yesterday happened. He could spot that small frame and brown hair wrapped in her classic bun, anywhere. It was an opportunity too hard to resist. Now, he was back to square one and he doubt she would be able to evade his mind. He sighed questioning how he even ended up in this quandary. He wanted to see her again. Get to know her. God, the next two weeks till her friend’s appointment was going to drive him crazy. 

Donna thumped softly on the office door prior to entering, three hours later. Her eyes promptly fell on Melody, busying herself with one of John’s old cameras. 

‘Mama!’ she jested from her seat. 

‘Hello darling. Were you a good girl?’ 

‘Oh, she was quite the helper. She even created a new job opening. I’m thinking of hiring her,’ he teased.

They laughed together, Melody clinging to both her uncle and mother. 

John drove behind his sibling all the way to her house, ensuring she and her offspring arrived safely. On his way out of her neighbourhood, he couldn’t help but notice the lights were on in Dr. Oswald’s house as he slowly passed by. It was almost nine o’ clock. Maybe he should pop by and say hello? He took a side road and made another round of the neighbourhood. He parked two houses higher up from Dr. Oswald’s on the opposite side of the road. What would he tell her if she answered the door? It wasn’t that late but she must be tired, dealing with endless patients all day.

He sighed, thinking it a bad idea, and pulled the gear into drive. As he was about to steer off, he caught a glimpse of her through the window clad in a black lace bra. Suddenly, he was very happy her curtains were transparent with the indoor light at night. But, if he could see her clear as day, then that meant others could as well. What if some random pervert was passing through and saw her? Anger and that male instinct to protect, welled inside of him. 

He froze as he watched her unhook her bra and parade around her living room, topless. He gulped, eyes fixed on her lovely, large breasts; especially those plump pink nipples. The crotch of his pants began to feel tight and he felt dirty and guilty for spying on her. Without hesitation, he pulled off and drove with high speed onto the highway. It was never his intention to invade her privacy and he regretted his actions, although he hated to admit, quite enjoyed the view. 

He dove into the shower the moment he got home, his body heated and ready for sex. John stood in the bath, bracing his arms against the tiled wall as icy water cascaded down his body. Shoving on his favourite black robe, he settled into a white chair on his bedroom terrace. The air was chilly, but he didn’t mind. Not with the shot of adrenaline that was still running its course through his veins. Since his wife’s death, twenty years ago, he never bothered to re-marry. Sure, he had his flings now and again but it never mended the rift in his heart. 

Eventually he moved on, socializing and meeting new folks through his work. Many of the models took interest in him, but he promised himself to never lay with another woman unless he felt his heart was in the right place. Truth be told, the solitude bothered him at times, but after Jack’s death and Melody’s birth, he felt like he had purpose beyond the camera. He wouldn’t go to the end of the earth for anyone but his niece and sister. But now, he was uncertain because slowly but surely, bit by bit, Dr. Clara Oswald was unconsciously worming her way into his heart.


	10. Better watch your back

Chapter 10

It was three days since Missy’s mishap. When Clara had arrived the following day to work, she was informed that the female washroom was out of order because the floor and the adjoining toilets were how did they put it … covered in so much crusty, foul smelling filth, that not even the best bottle of disinfectant could rid of the smell. Not to mention that the main door was locked from the inside and laboured sounds and moans were heard from the other side for the better half of the night into the wee hours of the morning. 

Because it was regulation to have a fully functioning washroom on each floor of the hospital, the janitor was called in and had to use an axe to break down the door. Upon entering the room, the awaiting smell that escaped was enough to age a person by fifty years and the sight of Missy, red eyed with shaking legs and a stained white skirt explained the reason for the odour. The old witch was treated for a serious case of diarreah later the next day, and given two days, sick leave. Calendar in hand, Clara to her demise noticed that the crone was due to return to work today.

Soft laughter followed the clacking of heels on the tiled hospital floor, growing louder as they approached Clara’s office. Missy burst in, her appearance ominous and menacing. 

‘Dr. Saxon, good morning,’ accosted Clara. The new head pulled a chair and sat cross legged. 

‘That was a nasty little stunt you played there, Miss Oswald,’ she snarled. ‘I know you spiked my coffee and now I’m the laughing stock. I am going to make you regret that.’

‘It’s Doctor Oswald and I have no idea what you’re talking about. How can you even accuse me of your misfortune?’ she defended innocently. 

‘Listen little girl, I’d be careful if I were you. Count this as your one and only warning,’ Missy threatened, rising from her chair. 

A cold breeze followed as the dreadful woman left her in peace. Her payback was well worth it, but one never crossed that woman’s good graces, twice. Luckily her encounter previously was subtle, but knowing her reputation, she was cooking up something under her sleeve. It was just a matter of time, till she found out what. 

A text from Amy broke the eerie air around her.

Need to talk. Meet me in the kitchen asap!

Clara met up with the nurse moments later, who wore a concerned look on her face. ‘What’s wrong?’ she quizzed, grabbing her hands. 

‘I have something to tell you but you have to keep it a secret.’

Amy Pond had a secret? Well, things certainly got interesting. She complied and waited with an abated breath. 

‘I lost my wedding ring,’ she confessed. ‘I haven’t told Rory, because I know he’ll get upset and the wedding hasn’t even happened yet.’

Clara bit her lip and paced up and down the small kitchen floor. ‘Are you sure?’ she prodded.

‘Of course, I’m bloody sure!’ 

‘Okay. Where were you last time you had it?’ 

Amy retraced her steps, hoping to jog a memory or two. The last place she recalled seeing the ring was this morning in the nurse’s station. She had taken it off to wash her hands and put it away, but then when she looked back it was gone. Maybe someone stole it? The duo combed the area’s every nook and cranny but were unsuccessful in finding the item. Amy was on the verge of tears.

‘We’ll find it, old chum. Don’t you worry,’ reassured Clara, hugging her friend. 

Heading towards the trauma centre to begin her day’s work, she bumped into Missy. ‘Clumsy, are we?’ she snorted, running a hand through her hair. 

That’s when Clara noticed a small diamond ring on her pointer finger. It looked very familiar. No. It couldn’t be Amy’s ring, could it?! Missy followed the younger doctor’s stare.

‘Fancy my ring, do you?’ she snickered.

‘It’s lovely. Looks very much like the one nurse Pond was wearing this morning,’ she accused. 

‘Are you saying that I stole the nurse’s ring?’

‘No, but I am open to the possibility that you are wearing the very one, right now.’

Dr. Saxon sized up the much younger woman and repeated her very words from earlier, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. How can you accuse me of such misfortune?’

Clara burned with rage as the crone gave her a wicked grin and plodded off. If that was really Amy’s ring, her entire view on that woman would change drastically and deliciously for the worse, of course. Ten minutes later her phone went off with another text message from Amy.

Got my ring back!   
Missy said she found it lying on the table and was about to make an announcement.  
She just returned it. I’m so relieved!

She swore, realizing she was played. Good one, Missy. If she hadn’t been caught wearing it, would she have even returned it? Who knows. One thing was for sure though, Missy Saxon and Clara Oswald hated each other and maintaining a professional relationship between themselves was going to require a lot of self -control and mental swearing. There had to be some way of coping with her authority because so help her God, Clara was not her footstool. Again, she thought to herself. Dr. Oswald should never be taken for granted. Ever.


	11. Gallifreyan Graphics and Photo Studio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope you have as much fun reading it!

Chapter 11

Two weeks went by with a whoosh! Amy along with Rory and her best friend Clara all pulled up in the parking lot of Gallifreyan Graphics and Photo Studio, owned and ran by photographer John Smith. A tall modelesque blonde guided them into a waiting area upon entering the building. It was a nice place. 

‘Mr. Smith will see you now. Please follow me,’ instructed the secretary. 

The three buddies waltzed into a large office, bordered in plain white walls decked with life size framed photographs of varying flawless faces. Clara spun, taking in the colour, vibrancy and sharpness of each photograph. When she found out John was a photographer, she figured he was something more of a hobbyist or amateur. Boy, was she was wrong. His work was exquisite and the quality was beyond real!

‘The future Mr and Mrs Williams,’ he welcomed from behind his large desk. ‘And Dr. Oswald.’ 

They each took a seat on a sofa located in a brightly lit corner. 

‘I’ve been told you need a photographer for your wedding.’

Amy nodded and went into full explanation of when and where the wedding was taking place and the complications she was having in sourcing a shutterbug. John nodded throughout the entire conversion, smiling and offering his expertise advice, already fully aware of the little deal he struck with Clara. With complete politeness, he listened to all of Amy’s misgivings. 

“If that’s okay with you, that is,” Amy concluded.

“I see no problem with that,” said John.

He stood and offered Amy his hand which she shook gratefully, then Rory, who followed suit. The couple stood along with Clara, getting ready to leave. Happiness radiated from the trio.

John cleared his throat “, Dr. Oswald, I have something to discuss with you, if you please.”

Clara raised an eyebrow “, Sure,” she turned to her friends “, I’ll see you guys later.”

Amy gave her pal a mischievous smile as she slipped out the door and left the two to get acquainted. 

‘How are you?’ he asked, closing his door for privacy. ‘I’ve been well. Yourself?’

‘I’m great. Wound healing nicely but it’s got a bit of a scar like you said would happen.’ 

She gave a half smile and fidgeted in her seat as an awkward silence fell between them. Think of something nice to say, she told herself. Her attention went back to the mounted photos on his wall. His eyes wandered to the center of her attention.

‘Like them?’

‘They’re wonderful. So, what business did you want to discuss?’ she asked, getting straight to the point. He shrugged and leaned against his green recliner.   
‘Just wanted to have a little chat and know if you’re okay… especially how you ran off after I paid you a gentlemanly compliment the last time we met. I hope I did not offend you in any way…’

Clara stared at her feet and answered, ‘No. Not at all. I was just taken by surprise.’

John folded his arms and knitted his brows, ‘Why?’

She gave a nervous chuckle and interlaced her fingers, eyes still downcast. 

‘I just don’t get many compliments is all. It’s strange to hear them,’ she replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. 

He studied her against the white background. Amidst the professional aura she displayed, and the smile that she was programmed to give, he sensed something bothering her. Maybe he was being overcritical, but he was an intuitive person and had the ability to easily read someone. 

‘Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine, thank you,’ she said looking up at him.

He didn’t believe her but the cheerless tone of her voice bothered him, until he had an idea.

‘Would you like to have a tour of the studio?’ he suggested with a goofy grin. 

He didn’t give Clara a chance to answer, he shot off his chair, grabbed her hand and pulled her down a very long, brightly lit corridor. She followed without resistance and was amazed by all the various equipment, props and backgrounds around the building. There were practically over eight rooms with different settings from boudoir to beach, all fully equipped for immediate use. One particular setting caught her attention. It was a gothic masquerade backdrop. Chucked in a corner were a variety of costumes and accompanying masks used in a previous advertisement project. 

He noted the fascination on her face as she soaked up the scene. Clara wandered to the costume rack and stopped herself halfway from touching the fabric of a lovely strapless, purple ballroom gown. 

‘Go ahead,’ invited John. 

She smiled over her shoulder and picked it up, marvelling at the intricate patterns embroidered along the bodice. John walked over to her and took it from her hands. 

‘It’s lovely, but not your colour,’ he judged. 

Clara pouted as he replaced it on the rack and plucked a red satin, off shoulder mermaid dress with a plunging back. Her eyes lit up as he handed it to her.

‘This however, is definitely your colour,’ he said with a charming side grin. 

‘It’s lovely,’ she admired.

‘Try it on.’

She eyed him in surprise. ‘I can’t…’ she began but John cut her off and guided her to a changing cubicle. 

He opened the door and she stepped inside. While she got dressed, he stealthily ran to a nearby closet, pulled out one of the many cameras, checked for a memory card and mounted it onto a tripod. 

‘Everything alright in there?’ he called, as he turned on the additional lights. 

He heard the squeak of the door and turned around. The old man did a double take, as Dr. Oswald shyly walked towards him. She looked drop dead gorgeous. 

‘You look beautiful,’ he commended breathlessly, taking her by the hand and standing her in front of a tall mirror bolted to the wall. 

She gasped in amazement at her reflection, ‘I feel like a princess!’

‘And I’m going to make you look like one when I’m finished,’ he added.

The photographer in him quickly went to work, sitting the doctor down on a Victorian style chair and adjusting her form to his liking. He positioned her in a sideward pose, hands gracefully placed in her lap, back straight but soft, chin up and lips slightly parted in a light gasp. The shutterbug grabbed a pot of red lip stain and applied it perfectly to her full lips. 

Clara tried hard not to laugh at having him do her make-up, but her amusement did not go unnoticed, as John chuckled, knowing full well what she was thinking. He lined her eyes with black kohl and for the finishing touch, gently unravelled her tight, signature bun. 

The sight of his finished product took his breath away. Her hair tumbled past her shoulders in soft chestnut waves, the soft light of the studio bringing out the rosiness in her cheeks and highlighting the planes of her face. Carla looked like a priceless work of art. John caught himself staring and positioned himself behind the camera and instructed her positions before capturing her. After the first three clicks, he stopped and looked unhappy.

‘Is something wrong?’ she questioned.

‘This isn’t you,’ he retorted. 

‘What do you mean?’

He took the camera over to her and showed her the photos which looked beyond perfect. She raised an eyebrow and said, ‘I don’t see the problem.’

He sat on the arm of the chair and explained, ‘Pictures are able to reveal unspoken qualities of a person. The individual I am seeing here is Dr. Oswald. The professional physician that everyone sees and meets.’

‘That’s who I am,’ she chortled. 

He disagreed, ‘No. This is the mask you want people to see. The person I want to capture is not Dr. Oswald. I want Clara. The Clara from the orphanage…’

Clara suddenly felt exposed. Naked. Was it possible that John saw past her shell? 

‘I’ll try,’ she offered, feeling very self-conscious. ‘-but I don’t know how to separate the two, into what you want.’

‘Think of something that makes you happy,’ he suggested and so she did, recalling the day at the orphanage with John; dancing and singing with the children. 

The endless clicking of the camera broke the spell and she looked John in the eye, who was beaming with satisfaction.

‘Better. Much better.’

After the unexpected photoshoot, John and Clara traded phone numbers, with the agreement that he only called her in emergencies related to the wedding, if he could not reach Amy and Rory. He bid her farewell as he walked her to her car and watched her drive off. He chuckled to himself at how splendid the day went and opened the folder with her photographs on his laptop. He compared the sad eyes and forced outlook on the first series of shots and her genuine bright, joy filled features on the other. Whatever Clara was hiding, he hoped one day he could get close enough to her to find out and hopefully take it all away.


	12. Bridal Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amy has plans...

Chapter 12

It was one month till Amy and Rory’s wedding and the young woman was panicking endlessly. Who knew planning a wedding was so stressful?

“I should have just eloped and avoided this entire façade!” Amy whined. Clara laughed while busying herself with a chocolate cupcake.

‘Anyway, don’t forget my hen party tonight at the club!’ she called, snatching the half-eaten cupcake from Clara’s hand and ran off. 

Clara dragged herself into the club later that night, the loud music increasing the throbbing in her head. She was exhausted and dying to get some sleep. Amy waved at her from a large table in front the stage, wearing a bridal veil and accompanied by a couple familiar faces. The brunette dropped herself into the only empty chair and chugged down an entire pint of beer. 

‘Woah there! We need you sober for the first half of the night at least!’ cautioned Amy, as she took the giant beer mug from her friend’s grasp. 

‘Easy for you to say. You managed to get half the day off by some miracle while I was stuck in the E.R. room all day dealing with stab wounds and gun shots!’ she snapped. 

The young woman buried her face in her hands and apologized to the company. Amy shrugged and ordered a round for the table. The drinks were brought by two men, tall and handsome but on the skinny side. They were both brunettes, one with side burns and spiky hair, clad in a blue suit with red converse sneakers and the other with long bangs and a big chin sporting a tweed jacket, black jeans and red bow tie. 

‘Cute,’ declared Amy, nudging Clara in the ribs and nodded to Mr. Red bow tie. 

‘Hi,’ flirted Amy. He smiled and exchanged the greeting.

‘I’m told there’s a bridal shower tonight?’ the other inquired. 

Amy confirmed and in a flash, she was hoisted from her chair and dragged to the middle of the stage where a slow, seductive tune began to play. The men began stripping out of their suits, gyrating on Amy, who scandalously laughed and smacked their behinds in the process. Mr. Red bow tie, now in a black thong lay her across the floor and made a very suggestive dance move atop the bride-to-be, while the company and Clara cheered on. 

Mr. Side burns pretended to be jealous and fought off his rival, hoisting Amy over his shoulders and spanking her in front the crowd. Seating her back down, they both took turns giving her a lap dance, which she was clearly loving. Eventually they brought her back to her table, sweating and panting before picking out members of the shower to take on stage and repeat the act. Mr. Red bow tie selected Clara, but she quickly turned him down, to Amy’s dismay. She wasn’t in the mood to be careened by two nearly naked men, in front a club full of people. 

‘You alright?’ asked Amy when they were alone freshening up their make-up.

‘I’m fine, just exhausted. Missy dunked another box of files before I was about to leave and wanted them asap.’

‘That would explain your mood,’ she commented.

The rest of the night was spent with Amy and her bandwagon of pals dancing around the club floor with the two strippers and having shots. As the company began to dwindle in numbers, she decided to play spin-the-bottle, where the only rule was the chosen person was given a dare, which must be done. The bride was chosen with the first spin and dared by one of their table-mates to snog the hell out of Mr. Red bow tie. She happily complied, jumping into his lap and kissing the poor man breathless. A couple rounds later, Clara fell victim and was dared by Amy.

‘Hmm… what shall I do with you,’ she teased.

‘Certainly not snog any of the two strippers, especially Mr. Red bow tie. Poor man looks like he’s about to collapse,’ protested Clara.

‘But he’s cute!’ argued one of the women across the table. 

‘Yes, but very battered from you all,’ she snorted.

‘Maybe the Mr. Side burns here, then? Unless you got somebody else on your mind,’ another suggested.

Amy eyed her playfully and those words struck her with a genius idea. 

To her friend’s demise said, ‘I, Amy Pond, dare you Clara Oswald to ask John Smith out on a date!’ 

The remaining persons around the table looked at them curiously but thankfully Amy did not divulge details. Clara glared at her, knowing from day one she shipped the two of them. 

‘I refuse and am only keeping a professional relationship with said person,’ she insisted.

‘Rules are rules!’ slammed Amy. ‘We all did our dares, complaint free.’ The others agreed.

She tossed Clara her phone. ‘Call him up, so we know things are half-way there,’ she affirmed with a wink. Clara was going to regret this… Getting it over with, she dialled the number and waited for the line to pick up.

‘John Smith,’ was the answer after the fourth ring.

‘Mr. S-Smith,’ she stuttered. ‘This i-is Dr. Oswald.’

‘Oh! Hello doc. What can I do for you?’ he asked fondly, unaware he was on loud speaker.

Clara went silent. Amy poked her in the ribs and gave her two thumbs up for encouragement.

‘Dr. Oswald?’

‘Mr. Smith, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?’ she blurted.

Now it was John’s turn to be silent. Her heart pounded as she anticipated his reply. She was expecting him to say no, but some part of her was hoping he’d say yes. Well, someone was certainly having mixed emotions about the situation.

‘I’d love to,’ was his reply a couple seconds after.

Amy grabbed the phone from Clara’s possession and shouted into the speaker,’ Pick her up at eight! Her address is 17 Cherry Tree Lane! Don’t be late!’ and hung up. 

Clara’s face was a look of horror. 

Amy patted her on the back and said, ‘Don’t worry. You’ll thank me later.’

Suddenly, her head began to ache twice as much than before and her stomach felt funny. She was going to be sick. 

John put down his phone, smiling broadly. Dr. Clara Oswald had just asked him out although it was a bit suspicious that her friend Amy Pond had shouted at him seconds after his reply and the sound of what may have been club music was booming in the background. Clara’s friend must have cooked up something, he could smell it, but he didn’t care because it meant he got to see his doctor again, and so soon too.

‘You look happy,’ commented Donna cradling a sleeping Melody in her arms. 

John grinned at her, the biggest grin he could muster.

‘Oh, you have no idea. I won’t be able to watch Melody tomorrow night.’

She cocked a brow at him. ‘You got a date?’ she teased.

‘I do,’ he answered proudly, puffing his chest.

‘With what poor girl?’ she blurted in disbelief.

He clutched his phone and looked away shyly before answering, ‘Dr. Clara Oswald.’


	13. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter 13

Clara pulled on an emerald green cocktail dress and black pumps, while Amy fumbled with her make-up kit. She carefully applied a light foundation, pumped up her cheeks with a dusty pink blush and coloured her lips red. Her hair was woven into a bohemian braid, that fell over her left shoulder. Amy took a step back and admired her handiwork.  
‘You look so perfect!’ she squealed, as Clara grimaced at her reflection on the vanity mirror. 

‘Oh, cheer up,’ Amy groaned, handing her a red handbag to add some pop of colour. 

‘You look amazing and any guy, not just John Smith is going to be gawking at you all night.’

Clara did not feel the level of self-confidence, the way Amy did. Truth be told, she was nervous. Despite having called in on her dare from the bridal shower last night, she was not sure how this little ‘date’ was going to affect her current standing relationship with Mr. Smith. Yes, she found him an attractive silver fox, with that lovely peppered hair and charming grin; but she felt scared. Like, she was about to overstep a boundary? Why was she even worrying over something so trivial? She wasn’t tied to John Smith; barely even his friend!

She sighed to herself. It had been years since she last went on a date. What if he found her boring? He didn’t back at the studio a couple days ago. Maybe if the conditions on which the entire evening was built on were different, she’d feel less of a train-wreck. After all, wouldn’t this count as some sort of prank? She admitted that the dare was Amy’s underhand way of getting them to spend more time together, because apparently, she felt he was a good match for her, simply in that he made her laugh and smile a lot. But, besides that, whenever she was around John, she found her feelings towards him conflicting.

At the chime of the doorbell, Amy was downstairs in seconds, welcoming John in. 

‘CLARA!’ she yelled at the top of her lungs, snapping the tiny woman out of her daze.

Carefully, she descended the stairs and heard the audible gasp from John, as he caught sight of her. Amy stood behind him, checking him out and nodding in approval at what she saw.

‘Hi,’ she accosted as she drank in the sight of him. He looked dashing in his black suit and deep purple shirt underneath, sporting that charming side smile.

‘Hi, to you too Dr. Oswald,’ he replied, his smile growing even brighter. ‘Shall we?’

He extended the crook of his arm for her to take.

‘You kids have fun and remember to get home real late!’ called Amy behind them. 

Clara rolled her eyes and discreetly flipped her friend off, before entering the awaiting vehicle. 

John made reservations at a lovely Victorian themed restaurant downtown. 

‘I figured you’d appreciate the theme, considering you really liked the masquerade setting back at the studio,’ was his conversation starter as he helped Clara into her seat. She chuckled in appreciation. 

‘You really didn’t have to go through all the trouble Mr. Smith.’

‘Call me John, please.’

She suddenly felt a pang of unease. Calling someone without formality meant getting casual with them. Was this what she wanted? To be friendly with John? Her mind began racing, thinking of everything that could go wrong tonight, of this date happening because Amy indirectly forced her into it, of her first date with Danny… oh God, why did she have to think of him now?

Her apprehension must have shown when John suddenly took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

‘Everything alright?’ he asked, concern plastered on his handsomely aged face.

‘I think I need some air,’ she divulged and instantly headed for the exit. John was on her heels in seconds and grabbed her by the waist as she stumbled forward on the pavement. 

‘I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry John,’ she started, breathing heavily. 

‘Sorry for what?’

She felt the world begin to spin and braced herself against the restaurant’s outer wall. John tore off his jacket and placed it over her tiny frame.

‘Let’s go for a walk,’ he said and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as they strolled across the street, into the neighbouring park. John seated her on a picnic bench overlooking a large man-made pond and settled himself beside her. 

‘Mind telling me what’s going on?’ he asked, worriedly.

‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled.

‘Yes, you said that. But, for what?’

Clara fidgeted with her fingers and told him of what transpired last night with Amy and how she felt she was taking advantage of their already meagre relationship. The doctor added how she always held a personal policy not to get close to patients which made John burst into a fit of laughter. 

‘What’s so funny?’ she asked annoyed.

‘This. Us. Your friend. Remind me to thank her. Really; and I am no longer your patient if I recall, correctly,’ he said between laughs.

Clara glowered at him.

He took a glimpse at her and stifled the fits of giggles that threatened to escape his lips.

‘What on earth can be so bloody funny? This is no joking matter!’ 

‘I knew this was a setup, all done by your friend. I’m really not surprised or offended,’ he confessed.

‘So why the hell did you go along with it, if you knew it was part of a stupid game I agreed to take part in?!’ she half yelled at him.

His amusement faded away, as he realized she was genuinely concerned about the state of the matter. 

‘Because I wanted to see you again,’ he confessed, all fun and games put behind.

She took in a deep breath. ‘Why? Couldn’t you wait till the wedding?’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’

She stared at him blankly. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. 

‘I like you Dr. Oswald…from the very first day you walked into that hospital room. Hell, I’d say even before that. It was you who calmed me down and held my hand when I thought I was going to die on that emergency table, wasn’t it?’ he questioned.

She hesitated, ‘… yes.’

He placed his thumb and index finger under her chin and turned her gaze towards him. Clara stared into his eyes under the streetlight, her heart once again pounding in her chest. 

He slowly leaned forward and was mere inches from her lips when she spoke, ‘Can we be friends…?’

Immediately he pulled back, feeling like she jabbed a knife into his heart. In all his life, he never felt embarrassed as he did now. He laughed it off, to hide his trepidation. Tonight, before picking her up, he decided to come clean with her; let her know how he felt because it was driving him crazy. He had really hoped she would have felt the same. Boy, was he wrong. 

An hour later he dropped her home, bidding her a good night. He had agreed to be her friend and she allowed him to call her on a first name basis. As much as it hurt him for wanting more, and he solely blamed his age for that matter, he was glad that Clara was willing to have him around her. Besides, better to have her as a friend, than not have her around at all, right?


	14. Missing Inventory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So let's get into the wider picture a bit, shall we? :D

Chapter 14

‘Sooooooooo, how did it go?’ badgered Amy, awaiting details from Clara’s disastrous date, last night.

‘A disaster… John tried to kiss me…’

Amy opened her mouth in awe and before she could ask her next question, Clara continued,’ I told him I just wanted to be friends.’ 

The red head’s glee instantly drained from her face. She stalked over to her friend and yanked her hair, hard.

‘OW!’ yelped Clara. 

‘What the fuck is wrong with you?!’ scolded Amy. ‘Friends? Seriously? Can’t you not see that man is interested in you?!’

‘I am very aware and more than ever because he told me last night!’

‘And you still told him that??’

‘I’m not ready for another bloody relationship, Amy! I don’t even know what or how I feel about him. All I know is that whenever he’s around I feel confused. One minute I’m happy to have him around and then he says nice things to me and -’ she babbled.

‘And what?’

‘- and I just choke up! I just get the urge to run!’ Clara’s eyes brimmed with tears. ‘I don’t even know why I’m upset…’ her voice cracked. 

‘Why am I crying Amy?’ she sniffled, her face plastered in confusion.

The ginger walked over and hugged her friend, tight. 

‘It’s okay,’ she comforted. ‘You’re confused because for the first time in years, your heart doesn’t belong to Danny and is making space for someone new. For John. You’re just scared, because you haven’t known life beyond that bastard and forgot what it felt like to have someone take interest in you and make you smile...’

Clara clung to Amy as she slowly absorbed her words. 

‘What should I do?’ she croaked.

‘Well, give him time. He seems smart. I won’t suggest texting him or anything, because you’ll come across as sending mixed signals. Wait till the wedding and work things out, okay?’

Rory poked his head through the doctor’s door. ‘Hey, sorry to disturb but has anyone seen Missy?’

‘Why in God’s name would anyone want to see her?’ spat Amy.

‘I was told there’s been missing needles and syringes in the nurse’s spare inventory closet and I apparently was the last person to remove stock.’

‘I’ll look for her. She’s probably in the basement looking for extra stuff for me to do,’ Clara sniffled. Rory only then noticed her red eyes and swollen face.

‘Everything alright?’ he asked.

‘Men! You notice everything so late!’ yammered Amy, pushing her fiancé out the door. 

‘We’ll talk later tomorrow okay, love?’ Clara nodded and went in search of Missy.

The old witch wasn’t in the basement as expected. Maybe her office? Clara politely knocked on the door, which opened with the slight force. No Missy in there either. She took in the likes of her office. Papers were strewn all over her desk, boxes cluttered about and was that a needle…? Clara looked behind her to ensure no-one was around and snuck in.   
She shoved it with her foot. It was a needle… a used one. Weird. Why would Missy have a used needle and one so carelessly lying about the floor? As quietly as she could, she lifted the mass of lying papers on her desk and eventually found a lighter, a small silver spoon and a small pouch of white crystals. The bitch was shooting heroin. 

Clara heard footsteps coming in her direction and quickly slid out the office and hid behind a cabinet in the adjacent corridor. It was Missy. She seemed antsy and perhaps the reason was she needed a fix? The head ungracefully rummaged through her drawer and pulled out her wallet, from what Clara could see. As she raced out the cluttered area, Clara followed behind, careful not to draw attention to herself. Missy walked outside to meet a black vehicle outside the parking lot. Clara hid behind the hospital dumpster and observed as a tall, dark man clad in a black hoodie and black jeans took a wad of cash from her and handed her a small packet in return. The young brunette pulled out her phone and videotaped the scene. 

As Missy received her goods, she immediately ran back to the safety of the hospital, unaware that she had been caught. Boy, the authorities were going to have fun with this, but first Clara wanted to see how far the woman would go. She may not have liked her but that didn’t mean she wanted her to lose her job. She pocketed her phone and watched as the black car drove off. To make her case plausible, she was going to have to get appealing evidence and that meant snooping around Missy’s office more often. Challenge accepted.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John opened his refrigerator and peered at the contents. One bottle of milk, a half dozen eggs and a can of soda. He slammed the door with a thud. It was going to be take-out tonight, again. While he waited on his pizza to arrive, he decided to clear his hard drive of unnecessary files. As he scanned through, he stopped on a special file. He lingered the pointer over it, before clicking open. John smiled as the photo appeared. It was Clara in the red dress. With a few small touch-ups, he made her look flawless.

A small smile appeared on his face as he unconsciously ran his finger over the contours of her cheek on the screen. It’d been three weeks since their ‘date’ and she hadn’t contacted him since. She was a doctor and perhaps just busy and after nearly kissing her, it would make sense she’d want time to process everything.   
Clara. Beautiful Clara. He sighed, staring at the photo. He missed her and he felt he overstepped a line. She was unlike other women he met. Despite the calm, collected exterior; she seemed insecure, frazzled, broken even but also sweet, caring, loving…

He groaned as that night’s events replayed in his mind. Amy and Rory’s wedding were in a week. That’s how long he had till he saw her. Donna had rung him up the following morning to find out how it went and she scolded him to hell and back for advancing on the young woman. Clara Oswald was driving him crazy. She infiltrated his thoughts constantly. He needed to see her before the wedding but first he should apologize… The shutterbug whipped out his phone and googled the term ‘TARDIS blue’.


	15. Ray Bans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, please don't kill me! *hides*
> 
> We're almost there... almost!

Chapter 15

Clara looked at the small brown package that was nestled in her mailbox. It bore her name written in a lovely cursive font. She sat at her kitchen table and slowly unwrapped it. There was a small shiny red box and a note attached to it. 

For a lady fair and kind.  
Please accept my apology for our last encounter.  
Your friend,  
John 

She felt a pang of guilt about that night. Amy was right, maybe she was making room in her heart for John. They agreed to be friends, so the link was still there. Impatiently, she opened the box and was dazzled by a small hair pin, with a TARDIS blue butterfly attached. Clara couldn’t help but smile. John Smith really knew how to brighten her day and his gifts were wonderful. There was nothing he should apologize for. A man revealing his feelings to a woman was completely normal and trying to kiss her afterwards… Oh God. John had almost kissed her.

She blushed as the memory filled her mind and couldn’t remember the last time she’d been kissed. Clara took the hairpin and stuck it into her tight bun. It really added some flair to her everyday hair do. Maybe she should get something for him too? After all, he must have felt embarrassed when she sprung the question on him, only moments before he was about to press his lips to hers. What would one get a photographer? John did not look like the scrunting type and most of what he wore, from what she observed were brand-named attire. 

The little woman racked her brain and at the corner of her eye, spotted a random brochure she had lying on the table. It bore two models, promoting some stylish new Ray Ban sunglasses. Perfect! She wasted no time ordering a lovely pair, from Amazon minutes later. Hopefully, it would arrive in time so she could present it to him before the wedding. 

`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Got everything?’ shouted Clara across Amy’s front yard, as she settled a large box into her car trunk. 

It was the week of the wedding and the trio had decided to rent a few hotel rooms close to the venue, to oversee everything went according to plan. The drive from London to Hestercombe House would take them approximately three hours. 

‘Don’t forget to tell John that we rented a room for him,’ reminded Amy.

Clara nodded. Her little present had arrived this morning and she was excited to give it to him. Seeing she also had to inform him of his accommodations, the doctor decided to drive down to his studio and share the news, rather than message him.

‘Hi,’ she happily greeted the modelesque secretary to the front of the building. 

‘I’d like to see Mr. Smith.’

‘Do you have an appointment, ma’am?’ was her blunt, deadpan question.

‘It’s Doctor and no but I won’t be long. I’m a friend of his,’ she explained.

The woman scoffed, ’Can’t see him unless you got an appointment.’

‘I said I was a friend of his, isn’t it possible I cou-‘

‘No appointment. No meeting. Now off you go,’ dismissed the rude bitch.

Clara ground her teeth, mental hurling profanities at the woman but externally maintained her professional decorum. As she slowly began to make her way for the stairs, she heard his voice echo from behind. Instantly, she spun and saw him and a lovely, leggy auburn haired lady, no doubt a model; clad in a high waist-ed black mini skirt and white spaghetti strapped crop top, deep in conversation. The doctor observed the woman playfully stroke his arm and flip her hair as they chatted and couldn’t help but stare at John’s arm wrapped around her tiny waist. 

Clara felt her temper flare and wait… did the woman just sneakily grope his behind? She stormed down the stairs in a fit of fury, dove into her car and drove off. As she paused at a traffic light, her mood lightened. Why was she even angry when she saw John with another woman? She was perhaps working with him and they were on friendly terms… maybe he was dating her? It hit Clara like a brick wall when she realized she was jealous. Oh God. Why would she be jealous? He was just her friend. It’s not like they were in a relationship or anything, right?

Upon returning home, she hastily packed her suitcase for her interesting four-day hotel stay and proceeded to text John about Amy’s change of plans. Her friend had decided instead of arriving to the venue the day before, and decorating, they could do so a few days in advance and at the same time enjoy the area. Initially she wanted John to photograph the wedding day but decided to have pre-wedding photos as well, including the rehearsals and on-sight preparations. 

A horn blared outside her kitchen window. She strolled to the window and looked out. A black commercial van was parked outside her driveway and John stood alongside it, waving. Clara welcomed the shutterbug into her home, offering him a cup of tea and some biscuits to pass the time as she packed her things.

‘I got your text,’ he said, munching happily on the snack.

‘Was now pulling onto your street when I got it.’

Clara dragged a suitcase across the floor and dropped herself into a seat across from him.

‘So, we’re all set?’ she asked out of breath.

He gave her a toothy grin, nodding in approval. Clara produced a cheque from her purse and handed it to him.

‘For all your travel needs.’

He frowned at the piece of paper and looked at her with his caterpillar eyebrows. 

‘I really don’t want your money, Clara. I’m happy to do it for free, like I told you earlier.’

‘We had a deal,’ she insisted, sliding it over to him.

He sighed and reluctantly took it. 

‘By the way, I have something for you…’ she said sheepishly. 

She ran upstairs and returned holding a small silver box with a green bow on top. John looked at her curiously as she handed it to him.

‘For you, as an apology for that night,’ she presented, a soft smile on her face.

He opened it and his face instantly lit up.

‘Try it on,’ Clara prodded, excitedly.

He slipped on the pair of sunglasses and Clara couldn’t help but laugh. It suited him and he kind of looked like an old rockstar.

‘All you’re missing is a guitar and you’d totally look an old Rockstar!’

A light bulb went off in her head and she instructed him not to leave, running upstairs to her attic and fumbling around the old boxes. When she got what she needed, she emerged in the kitchen with a wide grin and carrying a red and white guitar.

‘Is this another of your hidden talents, Clara?’ he asked curiously, with an amused smile.

‘Nah. Was my dad’s.’

She handed it to him and he strapped it over his shoulder. Pulling out her phone, she instructed him to pose like a Rockstar would with a guitar and took a couple shots. They exchanged items and she posed with the guitar and shades afterwards, both laughing like little kids. 

‘A selfie for luck?’ she suggested, handing him back his phone.

They huddled close together, his arm folding around her shoulders, tucking her into his side. He bent a bit trying not to appear as tall as he was. She chuckled at his thoughtfulness and they both smiled into the camera. 

‘Lemme see!’ whined Clara, trying to snatch the phone from his hands.

He held it up over his head, knowing she could not reach it. She grumbled in frustration and pulled a chair, standing atop it to get a better grasp. John roared in laughter and walked away but Clara was not one to give up so easily. She tackled him from behind, catching him off guard. She reached for the phone and he tripped over her foot, sending them both tumbling over and him landing atop her on the floor.

They both froze at the awkwardness of the situation. All the right parts of John’s body rested deliciously against Clara’s and they both tried very hard to ignore it.   
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled as he got off and extended his hand to help her up.

‘It’s alright,’ she chuckled nervously. 

He handed her the phone and she looked at the screen. They looked adorable together.

‘Whatsapp that photo to me okay?’ 

He gave her that side smile that was beginning to make her knees weak and did exactly as she asked.


	16. Evening Stroll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have some bad news. I'm moving to Texas in a couple of days and unable to update for a while. Just to get the ball rolling, I'm going to TRY to get up to a point where John and Clara are hopefully more to our liking... you'll see!

Chapter 16

Over the next few days before the big event, everyone was bustling with activity and misfortunes... The wedding cake was delivered two days in advance and was attacked by ants after being forgotten on an outdoor table for less than an hour. Amy was so stressed out, she began eating too much chocolate soufflé at a nearby shop and gained three pounds, making the wedding gown fit a little snugger than it should. Rory had tripped over the tv remote in the hotel room and gave himself a black eye, Clara went wandering the gardens without taking a map and got lost, but was found the next day by the gardeners, sleeping under a large bird bath; and finally, John had accidentally locked himself out of his hotel room dressed only in his speedo, to have a dip in the pool. He went to Clara for help and when she saw him in his tiny underwear, laughed herself senseless. 

The night before the ceremony, the four of them gathered around in a small pub, each sharing a drink. Amy and Rory called an early night and headed back to the hotel, leaving Clara and John behind. 

‘We should probably head back too,’ she suggested, finishing her drink.

‘Or we could go explore the town a bit,’ John suggested.

Clara cocked an eyebrow. ‘At this hour?’

It’s only seven thirty. What are you, on curfew or something?’ he moaned.

They both walked alongside each other, the sounds of their footsteps echoing on the cobblestone road. The weather was getting warmer with each passing night, as summer neared. The pair stopped over a bridge, peering down at the flowing water below. Clara’s face was stern, her posture tense.

‘What are you thinking?’ John asked softly, keeping his gaze on the water. 

Clara gripped the bridge rail tightly and took a deep breath.

‘I was engaged three years ago,’ she began, ‘to a wealthy man.’

John looked at her surprised. She told him her story; of the life, she imagined for herself and how much she loved this man, never once mentioning his name. Clara explained the abuse she endured, how she was instantly replaced by another woman and kicked out her fiancé’s house like a rabid dog. Tears streamed down her eyes, as she told him of how the events haunted her everyday, of how many sleepless nights she paced up and down her room, trying to come to terms with the situation and how lonely she felt and humiliated. 

John took her hand, kissed it, and dried her tears. Now he understood the hidden sadness she bore, the reason for the mask. She never let anyone close to her, for fear of history repeating itself and here she was, letting him see her vulnerable and in so much pain. The wedding was a reminder of what never happened to her. John’s heart ached for Clara. She didn’t deserve any of what happened. If he ever found the man that did this to her, he promised himself he would not let him walk away unharmed. 

‘It’s not and never was your fault,’ he soothed.

‘You are a strong woman. That man clearly did not understand what pearl he found and the worth that came with her.’

He wiped away another tear that rolled down her cheek.

‘You are a special person Clara, and your friends would not put you through this, if they didn’t think you could not have handled it. The fact that you have held up so well, is encouraging and impressive and I am so proud of you.’

She gazed up at him, wiping her nose on her jacket sleeve. He gave her a soft smile, gentle and caring and took her hand, interlacing their fingers. They walked for a bit more, before she released a long, tired yawn. John practically dragged a half-asleep Clara back to her hotel room, helping her out of her jacket and boots and tucking her into bed. 

‘John?’ she called, as he got up to leave. 

‘Hmm?’

‘Thank you for being my friend…’

He came over and planted a kiss on her forehead.

‘You’re most welcome.’

John threw himself onto his bed and sighed, thinking about Clara. He really hoped she would be able to cope with tomorrow. Despite everything that happened tonight, it was the first time he saw her break down. That meant her self-control was dwindling and the situation was beginning to gnaw at her. It also meant that she trusted him completely to share something so personal and he felt a stab of pride.

He checked his phone for any missed calls or messages. Thankfully his inbox and call log were empty. He stared at the photo that stood as his background. The infamous selfie that brought him tumbling down onto the tiny woman. If things were different and he was being completely honest with himself here, he would have taken her on the floor right then and there. With the way things were going right now, that was the last thing that was ever going to happen and he genuinely cared for Clara. Tossing the phone aside, he picked up the sunglasses she gifted him and grinned. Doctor Clara Oswald. The woman who saved his life. The woman he was falling in love with and was completely oblivious to it.


	17. Mr and Mrs Williams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Focus by Jacob Whiteside, in case you were wondering :)

Chapter 17

Clara stood behind the newly wedded couple as they sliced into their double tiered chocolate cake. A growing sickness churned in her belly as they shared the slice, laughing and smiling so happily. 

‘To the bride and groom!’ announced the best man, one of Rory’s childhood friends. 

Everyone began clapping and cheering as they walked onto the dancefloor, to have their first dance as Mr and Mrs Williams. As the lights faded and the music began, Clara knew she couldn’t take it anymore and discreetly slipped away from the crowd, into the slightly chilly night air. She followed the garden’s bricked path that ended in a large fountain and took a seat along the broad rim. 

Under the soft moonlight, she gazed upon her reflection in the water. It didn’t take long for the tears to come, followed by long, sorrowful sobs. A gentle hand startled her and she peered into John’s compassionate face. Clara suddenly felt her self-control give way and fell into John’s awaiting arms, wailing. He held her tightly, stroking her back while rocking them back and forth. 

‘It’s going to be fine,’ he soothed as she buried her face into his chest, tears staining his white dress shirt. 

As her weeping subsided, she rested her head on John’s shoulder and closed her eyes. He made no attempt to move her, despite sitting in his current position for more than ten minutes now was beginning to cut off circulation from his legs. It didn’t matter. Clara, his Clara, needed comforting and a shoulder to cry on. She wrapped her arms around his back and clung to him, like a child would to their parents. He hated seeing her like this and wanted desperately to cheer her up. So, he started to sing.

You sit alone in a midnight haze  
Can you hear my love?  
A million voices rack your brain  
Can you hear my love?  
I wanna give you everything  
Can you hear my love?  
Signal’s lost, we got cut off  
Can you hear my love?  
Focus on my voice  
Gotta let me through  
Gotta get to you  
Turn down all the noise  
Focus on me  
I’ll focus on you

Clara inhaled deeply and began humming along as he continued to sing. 

You’re in a war against yourself tonight  
Can you hear my love?  
Over the smoke and the battle cries  
Can you hear my love?  
I’m on your side and I will fight  
Can you hear my love?  
Transmission lost, yeah we got cut off  
Can you hear my love?

Focus on my voice  
Gotta let me through  
Gotta get to you  
Turn down all the noise  
Focus on me  
I’ll focus on you.

‘I love this song,’ she said out of the blue.

Success. John smiled and finished the ballad before looking at her. Clara’s face was swollen from crying, and her voice, raspy. 

‘How are you feeling?’

She wiped at her eyes and sniffled, ‘Not that great.’ 

The photographer reached for his handkerchief and dabbed at her wet cheeks, cleaning away her smudged mascara. 

‘How did you know I was here?’ she croaked.

‘I saw you sneak out and followed you,’ he informed.

Clara sighed and stared up at the moon

‘Thank you for being here.’

John chuckled and stood up, extending his hand to the young woman. 

‘Can’t be gone for too long. They’ll notice and the wedding scandals will start circulating about the photographer and maid of honour disappearing after the ceremony.’

She gave a low scoff and took his hand. He beamed at her and it was so infectious, she couldn’t help but burst into a small laugh.

‘That’s better. You look lovely when you smile and there shouldn’t be anything else on those lips of yours,’ he advised.

‘So I take it champagne, food and someone else’s lips is out of the question?’ she teased.

He looked at her, his heart suddenly feeling aflutter at the mention of someone else’s lips. Was she even aware of what she was implying? It did not have to be him, but he did not want it to be someone other than him. 

‘I believe you owe me a dance,’ he said by way of distraction from his possible misinterpretation and headed back to the reception.

‘I was looking for you two!’ shouted Amy as she spotted them, walking into the room. 

One look at Clara’s still red eyes and puffy features along with John’s shaking of the head, told Amy enough of what previously transpired. Instead of pressing for details, she handed them both a glass of champagne and went off greeting other guests. 

John guided Clara to the dancefloor after two more drinks. As a slow song began to play, he took her hand and they slowly swayed to the music. 

‘Ouch!’ yelped John as Clara accidentally stepped on his foot.

‘I’m sorry. I should have told you before. I’m not a very good dancer…’

He chortled, ‘It’s alright. All you need is a good lead, which I happen to be.’

As the evening progressed, Clara’s feet began to ache but she refused to let go of John. She was for the first time in a long time, enjoying the company of another male and having fun.

Eventually she let out a groan, ‘These shoes are killing me, but I want to keep dancing.’

‘Well, take them off, but I can’t promise I won’t step on your toes for a change,’ he replied.

She gave him a mischievous smile, kicking off her expensive heels and proceeded to stand on his feet. Instantly John began to laugh, at the rather adorable gesture. No way he can step on her toes now. For the remainder of the night, they danced like that; bodies held closely together and nestled safely in each other’s arms without a care in the world.


	18. A change of heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> La de daaaaa!

Chapter 18

In the weeks that followed, Clara and John kept in contact via endless whatsapp and text messaging. It became routine when either had a rather busy day ahead; to at least wish each other a good morning and ask how their hours went, before going to bed at night. Clara enjoyed the new-found hobby, which took her mind from the series of unpleasantries throughout her time at work. Lately however, she found communication through electronic media was no longer enough and decided to invite John over for dinner.

‘Hey Mr. Shutterbug,’ she greeted as she let him in.

‘Hey, to you too. Something smells delicious!’

Clara chuckled, putting on her kitchen mittens and retrieving a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies from the oven. John attempted to snag one, but Clara slapped his hand away and warned him they were for desert. While the doctor prepared dinner, John turned the radio on and helped set the table. A rather catchy tune came up and Clara found herself dancing to the music to which John joined in. They both laughed at how badly out of time they were to the music’s rhythm, but it didn’t matter.

‘Okay! Lasagna in the oven. All we have to do now, is wait,’ she said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

‘What do you want to do to pass the time?’ he asked.

‘We could watch the telly or put on a DVD, if you’d like. I have to warn you though, I only have chick flicks.’

John did not mind and they both settled on the couch, watching a copy of ‘Ever after’. Clara frowned as the main male protagonist sent away his love interest before an entire crowd. The notion reminded her of herself in a similar situation and she immediately got up and moved to the kitchen. John followed her, sensing she was upset by her sudden change in body language. 

‘Clara?’ he called, cautiously.

She sniffled, quickly brushing away her tears. John came around and pulled her into a hug, which she gladly accepted.

‘It’s gonna be alright,’ he whispered and reached down to cup her face. 

She stared up at him, taking in his fluffy hair and ridiculous eyebrows. He drank in her features, those sad brown eyes, funny nose and full lips… How he wanted to taste them, feel them against his. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and softly pressed his against hers. Clara gasped at the advance in affection from him which sent a tingling sensation through her body. Before she could react, he pulled away and quickly apologized for overstepping his boundary as just a friend.

A friend. Lately he was becoming more than that to her, she thought. She had told herself that a sugar daddy was the last thing she would ever think of having; but with John, it didn’t seem to matter. She began to like him a bit more than an average friend would and the kiss just now certainly proved it. Boy, she wanted more. 

‘Don’t be sorry, because I’m not,’ she affirmed.

John looked at her in surprise and confusion.

‘I overstepped my boundary as your friend, Clara. That can never happen again.’

‘What if I don’t want to just be friends anymore and want it to happen again?’

John was dumbfounded. Was Clara really implying what he thought he did? Was she asking to be in a relationship with him? 

He clearly got his answer when she unexpectedly grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and kissed him, hard. Everything went foggy and within seconds he was kissing her back, his arm tightly wound around her waist while hers clutched a handful of his glorious hair. 

It felt so good to finally kiss her, after months of wondering what it would be like. He traced his tongue along her lips and she happily opened her mouth to him. John broke away for a few seconds and hoisted the little woman onto the kitchen table, before crushing his lips against hers again. Clara released her grip from his hair and ran her hand down his back, while his pushed the skirting of her dress up to her stomach and gripped both her thighs, which he nestled himself between. 

The brunette pulled his shirt out of his pants and shoved her hands underneath, feeling his warm, bare chest. As her fingers brushed over his right nipple, he released a moan and rolled his hips into hers. She smiled against his mouth and repeated the action, letting her free hand slip towards his belt and groped the growing bulge in his pants. John snapped back to reality and broke the kiss, panting heavily.

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Clara, worriedly.

‘I thought you wanted to just be friends?’

‘I did but… I don’t want to anymore…’

‘Why?’ he asked breathlessly. He needed to get the matter off his chest, knowing with good reason why she had a change of heart. 

‘Because lately, you’ve made me feel things I was not sure I could feel again and ever since the wedding I’ve begun to like you more than a friend,’ she explained.

‘I just… want to try this. Give myself another chance at love, with someone I’ve come to care about.’

John stared at her, his mind for the first time, blank. Clara was asking him to be in a relationship with her. What more could he possibly ask for? 

‘If you don’t want that, then it’s fine… I’ll pretend this never happened between us and we can stay friends if you want to keep me around,’ she added, when he realized he did not reply to her immediately.

‘Oh Clara. I do want this. You just… took me by surprise,’ he explained. 

‘But, does my age not bother you?’

‘Age is just a number,’ she replied calmly, giving a cheeky grin.

John caressed her left cheek, giving her a serene smile, which she returned. Of all the moments in his life after his wife died, he had never felt such happiness and neither did Clara. Finally, he was going to be with his beloved doctor and there was nothing and no one who was going to come between them.


	19. Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, I'm going to be away for a good while and I'm so sorry I won't be able to update till I have internet up and running. Just wanted to thank everyone for all their support and comments. I have finished the entire fic and I hope you stay with me till the end! Lots of love to you guys!
> 
> Oh and... sorry for the mild cliffhanger...?

Chapter 19

Clara looked at the postcard she received from Amy. The Williams were currently still on their honeymoon in Dominica, soaking up some sun and enjoying the sand and sea. What she wouldn’t do to have a vacation! Missy was making everyone’s lives miserable, issuing additional tasks not listed in their job quota and threatening to call the hospital director when opposed. Clara had managed to collect her shooting needle and spoon from her office, while on a lunch break and bagged and hid it. Missy went into a tantrum when she noticed it missing and frantically searched the entire department for her junkie equipment. 

She noted the black vehicle, who clearly were the drug dealers, appeared on a Thursday around three in the afternoon, every other week. The video clippings of their transactions with Missy were backed up in a separate memory card and put into storage. Sooner or later, Missy would do something and Clara would need the evidence she gathered to get rid of the old witch. A text alert, disturbed her from her thoughts. It was from her boyfriend.

John

Thinking of doing some nightscape shots, tonight.  
Do you want to join me?

She smiled to herself. Boy, Amy was going to freak when she heard the news that they finally got together. John was so caring and sweet, she wished she had listened to her friend from the beginning. Replying to his message, she sighed happily and could not wait to see him later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John adjusted his camera’s height in accordance to his posing subject. It was the first time in a while he had to do a photoshoot that did not involve scantily clad women. Nope. This time it was a tall, dark stranger who carried quite a shady aura. He was the focus of the magazine’s cover this month and was given a four-page printed interview. From what he heard, he was quite wealthy and currently investing in numerous hospitals around the London area. The models in the building and some of his female staff were fawning over him. Must be the money, he thought. 

‘That’s a wrap!’ shouted John.

The stranger calmly strolled across the room and instead of getting into a changing cubicle, removed his shirt and jacket in front of the oestrogen-filled room. Light whispers and giggles filled the air, as all eyes were on the man’s well-toned abdominal and pectoral muscles. He purposefully flexed his biceps, knowing very well the attention he was receiving from the standing female spectators. John rolled his eyes. If Clara were in the room, she’d have some snarky comment to pop that head full of air, this idiot sported. 

Ah yes, Clara. His Clara. They’d began properly dating three weeks now and the hours felt like centuries before he could see her. Days she worked overtime, or at night, he reluctantly opted to messaging or video chatting because she was always exhausted and needed her beauty sleep. On her days off, he’d schedule himself with fewer appointments in order to spend as much time with her. On those days, they usually sat around the telly, watching movies and cuddling or if she was not too tired, they’d go shopping together or visit the orphanage. The kids there really grew on him and they seemed to fancy him now as well, because they always demanded hugs and kisses before he and Clara left

A high-pitched squeal resounded in his ear as he looked over, to see one of his make-up staff posing with the half-naked stranger for a selfie. Something about this man was rubbing him the wrong way and he had no idea why. John had met many obnoxious persons before, but they never bothered him the way this one did. 

‘Alright ladies, we don’t want to overwhelm our guest with the enthusiasm,’ was his nice way of saying, leave-the-man-alone-so-he-can-get-changed-and-the-hell-out-of-here-because -I-can’t-stand -a-minute-longer-with-him-in-my-presence. 

The women looked a bit disappointed but hey, the boss just spoke so they had to do as they were told. He scoffed as two of the models who were flirting with the stranger slipped him their phone numbers. 

‘Please follow me to my office, so we can sign the terms of release and agreement forms,’ he instructed.

As John busied himself, uploading the photos onto his hard drive and printing a copy of the form, the annoying man carefully scanned his office. His eyes wandered from photo to photo mounted on his plain white walls and then stopped at one, located on the middle of the back wall. He walked up to it, squinting his eyes in scrutiny and let out a rather disturbing chuckle. 

‘Who is this lovely lady?’ he asked.

John turned and looked at his favourite and recently new addition to his wall.

‘She’s not a model, if that’s what you’re wondering,’ he answered cautiously.

‘Ah. But she has the looks of one. What’s her name?’ he pressed.

John was overcome with unease, for some strange reason and was unsettled by the way the man stared at the photo. 

‘Clara,’ he answered in the politest way possible. Better not mention her surname or profession, just for the simple reason of protecting her, because he did not trust this creep. 

As the papers came out of the printer, he handed them over for him to sign.

‘Clara, you say? What a lovely name,’ he commented. 

‘Do you know that it means ‘Clarity’?

John frowned. ‘What exactly is your point?’ he snapped.

‘Her name is as clear as her face, is all. Reputation-wise… who knows with women?’ 

John felt a shot of anger and growled, ‘You will keep your tongue still about any opinions you have against my subjects good, sir. Clara’s and any other model’s reputation here is none of your business and is their private matter. Now if you would be so kind, I would like for you to sign our terms of photo release agreement and leave.’

The stranger leaned back in a chair and snorted, ‘I was only joking, my good old man. No need to get so sensitive.’

John balled his hand into a fist behind his back and slowly counted to ten. Anyone accusing his Clara or saying anything negatively against her, he was not going to tolerate.  
The man handed John the papers and glanced at the photo one last time, before exiting the room. 

The silver fox scanned the forms ensuring everything was in order and entered his name into his database; PINK, DANNY.


	20. Meteor Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Officially in Texas and I missed you all soooooo much!
> 
> Here's your update and enjoy the cuteness while it lasts mwahahahahaha!!!!!

Chapter 20

John set up his tripod and camera while Clara sat on the hood of his car, observing him. The evening was surprisingly warmer than she expected, which was a good thing, considering they were out in the elements at such a late hour. They were in a remote area outside of town, a good two-hour drive from his studio.  
‘Ready!’ called John and beckoned Clara to join him.

John loved photographing the night sky and rarely found time to do it. However, tonight was particularly special because he had his Clara alongside himself for company; and it was also the night of the Summer Solstice. It was reported that a meteor shower should be occurring around now. He scanned the sky and spotted a dash of light and then another, across the star-studded sky.

‘Here it comes!’ he exclaimed.

Clara glanced at him questioningly and then back up.

‘Oh, my God!’ she squealed as she caught onto what he meant. 

In minutes, the sky was raining with hundreds of meteors. John instantly grabbed onto his camera and began capturing the scene. When he had, what he deemed, satisfactory shots, he looked across to see Clara’s attention glued to the stellar phenomenon.   
Click! Click

Clara turned her head in the direction of the sound, to be met with John focussing his camera on her. She chuckled and re-seated herself on the hood of his car, waving at him.

‘I thought you were photographing the sky?’ she asked with a smile.

‘I have something more beautiful to take pictures of, in front of me.’

Her cheeks flushed at the compliment and gave a shy grin. John took a seat besides Clara.

‘You know, they say its good luck to make a wish if you see a shooting star; and it’s even better when there’s a meteor shower,’ he informed.

‘That sounds like something to give people hope,’ she dismissed with a hint of sadness.

‘It’s made up, just like fairy tales. All stories to make you believe in love and happiness.’

John took her hand and stroked it.

‘They do exist you know. It’s just a matter of seeing past your pain and moving on.’

She drew in a shaky breath, while John’s face grew solemn. He hated seeing Clara unhappy and so help him God, if he ever found the man that hurt her, he again promised himself to never let him walk away uninjured.

‘How about we both make a wish?’ he suggested.

She looked at him for a moment, and then agreed. He held onto her hand tightly and they both held their faces towards the sky, eyes shut and made their wish.

‘What did you wish for?’

‘I thought you weren’t supposed to ask that, else the wish doesn’t come true?’ Clara protested.

‘I don’t think it matters, because either way the stars heard,’ he defended.

She glowered at him and then bargained, ‘I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.’

He agreed, ‘Ladies first.’

‘I wished for the children at the orphanage to all get adopted and have a happy life.’

John was taken aback. This small woman before him was truly amazing. So selfless. Before she could ask for her own, she thought of the less fortunate.

‘You’re really amazing, do you know that?’

He unseated himself and stood in front of her, his hands splayed on either side. Without indication, he bent forward and kissed her cheek and then the other, followed by her forehead and chin. John pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and gazed upon her face. 

‘What did you wish for?’ she asked.

‘You.’

Clara opened her mouth to give a pessimistic response but it never came out as John captured her lips in a gentle kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the gesture; enjoying the feel of his body against hers, as their kiss grew needier. His mouth left hers and travelled down her neck, slowly sucking on her supple skin and setting her body afire. She gasped as he began massaging her breast with one hand, while the other wandered beneath her skirt. He found the waistband of her knickers and slipped his hand underneath, finding her wet, to his delight. 

She moaned into his mouth as he began rubbing her clit before slipping a finger in, followed by another, slowly pulsing in and out her slick entrance. 

‘Oh, God John!’ she panted.

He kept up the action, as she arched her back, riding the motion as he finger-fucked her. The sounds that escaped her lips in the slightly warm, night air added to the rush of blood that settled in his increasingly hard thickness. He was experienced in the bedroom and had few women before, but he could never recall one that moaned under his touch the way Clara was doing, at this very minute. He felt her walls tighten and knew she was close. John began pounding his fingers into her vigorously, with greater force. Clara felt her mind go blank as the pleasure gushed over her like a waterfall and she revelled in the euphoria.

John did not give her time to come down from her high and immediately undid his belt and shoved his trousers and underpants down. He quickly tore open a condom and slid it over his hard member. He laid her across the hood and they both let out a moan, as he slid into her. John stood still for a few moments, allowing her to adjust to his size. Slowly he began to roll his hips against hers, the motion like an ebbing tide, filling and receding. Clara wrapped her legs around his waist as he sped up, clawing at his back, revelling in the feel off him inside her. His thrusts grew harder as he felt himself near the peak. 

‘You feel so good!’ he moaned into her ear as his pulses began to grow erratic.

He let out a long, loud groan as he came but continued pumping into Clara, until she began whimpering and was rewarded with her second orgasm moments later.  
He ripped off the condom, tossed it on the ground and pulled his trousers and underpants back up. The silver fox lay next to a deshelved but happy Clara, who had the look of pure ecstasy on her face.

‘Are all nightly photoshoots going to be like this?’ she rasped, still out of breath but clearly satisfied.

John chuckled and took her hand and kissed it.

‘Better.’

Clara let out a small laugh, ‘Then count me in!’


	21. Breaking the news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, your friends bound to find out at some time, yeah? xD

Chapter 21

Amy and Rory had returned from their honeymoon two days now. Clara managed to smuggle her friend away for an after-work drink at a local pub, nearby.

‘So, how was the trip?’ she inquired, propping her hand under her chin.

‘Quite good. I didn’t give Rory a break… he was so exhausted after our first night, he slept for twelve hours non-stop!’ Amy replied, with a devious laugh.

Clara shook her head, feeling sorry for poor Mr. Williams. When she had seen him at work today, he looked drained. Amy certainly had an appetite!

‘So what’s the story with you?’ the red head asked, ‘Mind telling me what happened at the wedding?’

Clara stared at the contents in her glass. She knew exactly what Amy wanted to know; what happened at the reception, after she snuck out and then emerged all red eyed and puffy-faced with John. Not to mention how they remained close and held each other for the rest of the night. She never had a chance to sit and explain the situation with her friend, because early the next morning, they raced to the airport to catch their plane on time.

‘I… thought of what it would be like, with me walking down the aisle instead of you…’ she began.

‘You looked so gorgeous and happy, holding Rory and … I couldn’t stand it anymore. I just needed to get away.’

Amy looked at her sympathetically, ‘I’m sorry. I should have been more considerate.’

Clara shook her head, ‘It’s fine. Really. John helped me.’

The ginger’s face lit up. ‘I did notice the two of you were cozy for the larger part of the evening. Mind letting me in on that?’

Dr. Oswald smiled at the memory of John comforting her and told Amy everything, including that they were currently dating.

‘Oh, my God! Shut up!’ screamed her pal in excitement. ‘I knew it! You liked him after all!’

The brunette smiled and took a sip of her drink, face pink from revealing her entire story.

‘So, tell me…’ began Amy, scooting a bit closer to her. ‘You guys had sex yet?’

Clara whacked her pal in the arm and scolded her for being nosy, which rewarded her with a scandalous cackle. As she was about to give a rather profane filled opinion on the question, she spotted the silver fox making his way towards them, a bright smile on his face when he locked eyes with his doctor.

‘Good evening, ladies,’ he greeted, giving his girlfriend a peck on the lips and taking a seat beside her. 

Amy looked at them and squealed.

He looked at Clara and then at her friend, ‘I take it you heard the news?’

She nodded in approval and began fawning over the two of them, mentioning how she thought they looked cute together from the very beginning. John chuckled right through the conversation, while Clara mentally noted all the embarrassing things her friend revealed and to punch her for it later.

‘I’m really happy for the both of you. Clara may not say it, but she needs someone in her life. She’s been lonely for too long. You better take good care of her Mr. Smith or should I say Mr. Sexy silver fox, as Clara referred to you earlier,’ Amy babbled with a wicked grin.

Clara’s eyes opened wide and she purposefully avoided John’s gaze, but did not fail to notice his hand that gave her upper thigh a light squeeze, below the table. Oh boy, he was going to tease her to hell and back for this one. She could foresee it. Damn you, Amy!

‘Well, I better head back. See you two lovebirds around and Clara, be gentle with the old fella, aye?’

John frowned at the last part of her comment while the young doctor felt herself die inside. Man, she really could strangle that ginger right now.

‘Soooooo, sexy silver fox, eh?’ he taunted, as soon as Amy left. His girlfriend rubbed her eyes and groaned.

‘Please don’t start…’ she pleaded. He gave a devious chuckle, ‘I’m not letting you off the hook on this one.’

She groaned, had a last swig of her drink and stomped outside. John completely amused lagged, taking in her appearance from behind. Tonight she wore a black spaghetti strapped dress, that revealed a bit too much thigh, which he completely did not mind; and black ankle boots. This woman was just perfect.  
He met her outside of the building, trying to flag down a cab.

‘What are you doing?’ he chuckled, as she gave him the most adorable bratty face. 

‘Going home. I’m in no mood to be teased!’ she grumbled.

John tilted his head back and laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. 

‘Oh, my sweet Clara,’ he whispered into her ear, before placing a kiss on her neck.

Instinctively she shuddered at the sensation and tried very hard to hide it. John smirked and repeated the action, earning a soft gasp. 

‘We’re in public. You can’t do-‘she stopped midsentence as he buried his face in the junction between her neck and shoulder. 

She suppressed a moan and felt warmth pooling between her legs, while her nipples peaked, now clearly visible under the fabric of her dress.

‘You were saying?’ he chimed playfully into her ear. 

She turned around and glared at him, her arms akimbo. John immediately burst out laughing and looked her up and down, noting the reaction of his little teasing when his eyes fell on her breasts.

‘Eyes up here, mister,’ she chuckled, following his stare.

John gave a wicked grin and kissed her before whispering, ‘How about we finish what I started back at my place, aye?’

Clara eyed him hungrily, returning a naughty gaze as he helped her into his car. 

‘I’m very horny, thanks to you. I hope you are a good driver, because if we don’t get to your house in ten minutes, I’m going to shag you in the front seat, in traffic!’ she warned.

To emphasize her point, she gripped his thigh and stroked his crotch. His breath hitched and he bucked into her palm as his growing erection was constricted by his trousers. John’s eyes grew dark with lust and he licked his lips.

‘If we get home in less, I’m not promising I won’t rip that dress off you,’ he growled and pulled off the sidewalk, full speed ahead.


	22. Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, enjoy it while it lasts!

Chapter 22

John slammed his front door shut and pushed Clara to the nearest wall. They kissed each other hungrily as either fumbled to remove the other’s clothes. John swiftly pulled down the straps of Clara’s dress, exposing her already awaiting, hardened tips. He engulfed them with his mouth, sucking hard and rough to Clara’s delight, alternating between sides. As he busied himself suckling on her, she undid his belt and shoved his trousers and underpants down in one go, followed by her own knickers. John swiftly pulled away and slipped his t shirt off, pushing the rest of the dress down her body. As it pooled at her feet, he kicked it away and lifted her up, pinning the tiny woman against the wall. 

She immediately opened her legs and wrapped them around his waist as he entered her roughly. They both moaned in unison as he slammed into her, hard and fast; the slapping of his pelvis into hers loud and clear. The doctor looped her arms around his shoulders for support, as he placed sloppy kisses along her neck. Clara groaned and crushed her lips to John’s seconds before he drove her over the edge, screaming his name. His turn didn’t come long after as he released himself inside her. He gently put her down and braced himself against the wall, both their legs trembling from the exercise. 

‘Did we really just do that with our shoes still on?’ giggled Clara, pushing aside a lock of hair from her sweat soaked face.

‘Shit! I didn’t use a condom this time!’ he noted, worry written all over his face.

‘I’m on the pill, darling. Ever since that time on your car, I’ve been taking it,’ she reassured him.

He sighed with relief and moved over to his couch to remove his shoes. Clara followed suit and they both collapsed against the soft throw pillows. As their heart rate resumed normalcy, the brunette cuddled against her silver fox. He planted a kiss atop her head and sighed happily. They sat there for what seemed eternity, just petting one another, until Clara devilishly cupped his groin. 

John chuckled as she went down on her knees before him, rubbing her hands up and down those fine thighs. She stopped, tracing the outline of the scar she had stitched together. Clara looked up at John, whose eyes were fixed on her and kissed the newly healed tissue, trailing them up to his stomach. Carefully she took his member into her hand and slowly stroked it. As it grew hard, she took him into her mouth, swivelling her tongue along the slit of his head. He laid his head back and groaned in ecstasy as she massaged his twin weights below, while sucking him.

He grew needy, wanting more and thrust into her mouth. She felt him hit the back of her throat but let him continue. The shutterbug began panting, his momentum gaining speed. Clara pulled away to John’s horror and straddled him. They both gasped as she took him all in and began riding him hard and mercilessly. 

‘Oh fuck, Clara!’ he yelled as he hit his breaking point.

She didn’t stop, and continued riding him till she felt her own peak was near and came, gripping his shoulder tightly. The doctor slumped onto his chest, utterly spent. Her boyfriend rolled them over onto their sides and held her, their bodies drenched from the enjoyable workout. 

‘I could really use a shower. You?’ suggested John.

‘Mhmm. But, you got to carry me up those stairs. I don’t think my legs have the strength right now.’

They both giggled like little school children, up to mischief.

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘Doctor, Doctor Oswald,’ she corrected with a sheepish smile.

Her response granted her a playful bite from John on her left shoulder.

‘Ouch!’ she complained.

‘For each time, I’m corrected, I’ll bite you,’ he teased.

‘Weird old man,’ she spat playfully, as he got up, scooped her into his arms and headed upstairs.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Clara woke up pleasantly sore. Her body ached in places she didn’t know could ache, but she felt happy, fulfilled and most of all, loved. She lay on her side and watched her lover, fast asleep. He looked so peaceful, with his hair spiked in berserk angles and his arms splayed on either side of his body. She hovered over him and brushed her lips along his neck and chest. 

‘Mhhh... Clara’ he said sleepily. 

She gave a smug look and tenderly pressed her mouth to his. He opened his eyes and returned the gesture, unexpectedly flipping her onto her back. 

‘I see you’re awake now,’ she teased, kissing him again. 

John wasted no time showering her body with affection, mapping her with his mouth, memorizing every spot that made her gasp and moan from the night before. She arched her back as he kissed a certain area on her right inner thigh. He chortled and returned his mouth to her lips. They lay in bed, kissing till their lips were completely numb and they were breathless.

‘Last night was amazing,’ she commented, as John made them breakfast.

‘It was and so were you. I hope you give me my shirt back,’ he replied with smiling eyes.

‘Nope. I like this one. The polka dots are cute.’

He handed her a plate filled with toast and bacon and admired her as she gobbled it down with a cup of hot coffee. Ever since she came into his life three months ago, and the better part of their time as a couple, he felt happy… and something more. 

‘What?’ she asked, wearing a moustache of foam over her upper lip. 

He leaned forward and licked it off, before kissing her lovingly. Good grief. Clara felt herself giddy with everything that transpired from the wedding till now. John was so loving, caring, protective… what more could she ask for? She really should have taken Amy’s advice, from the first day. The man before her treated her better than anyone she had ever been with. Better than Danny. For the first time in years, she felt things were falling into place again.

The front door rattled and without warning, Donna barged in on the underdressed couple. Clara jumped in surprise and hid behind John, who was clad only in his underpants.

‘Oh! Am I interrupting something?’ she asked in surprise, noticing Clara clinging to her brother.

John glared at her and nearly died when Melody waltzed in.

‘Uncle Johnny!’ she exclaimed, running to hug him. He lifted her up and hugged her.

‘Hello Doctor!’ she greeted Clara with a big smile. 

She gave a weak grin at the child and emerged from behind John’s back. Donna broke into a cackle.

‘Well I am sorry to interrupt. I was going to ask you to watch Melody today, but I’ll leave you two alone. Nice to see you Dr. Oswald.’

Melody looked between her uncle and the doctor, taking in their appearance.

‘Did you guy have sex?’ she questioned, curiously.

‘Time for you to go young lady!’ dismissed an embarrassed John, handing her over to her mother.

‘But, you didn’t answer. Why are you two almost naked?’

‘Alright Melody. That’s an adult situation. Let’s go,’ buffered Donna, quickly dragging the child out of the house, but ensuring to sneak a wink at her brother.

‘I’ll see you lovebirds later!’ she called from the front yard.

Clara and John stared at each other and burst out laughing. His phone beeped, alerting him of the incoming text message. He picked it up and to his dismay it was a message from his sister.

Happy shagging!   
Don’t wake the neighbours or burn a hole in the mattress.  
P.S. I approve of your girlfriend!

John groaned and deleted the message.

‘Something wrong?’ asked Clara, taking his hand.

He looked at his phone and then her, ‘Siblings!’


	23. Monsters of the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing lasts forever...

Chapter 23

Clara waltzed into the A&E, smiling brightly and greeting everyone cheerily.

‘Morning Amy,’ she said in a sing-song voice. 

Amy did a double take and followed her to her office. As the door shut, she grabbed her friend and felt for a fever, and checked her pulse.

‘Okay. Who are you and what have you done to my friend?’ the ginger questioned.

‘I’m right here,’ she giggled and sat back in her chair, ignoring the mound of paperwork on her desk and the little note from Missy, demanding its completion by the end of the day

‘Did something happen after I left, last night?’

Clara ignored her, her head in cloud nine. Amy snapped her fingers, trying to get her friend to focus.

‘We had sex, alllllll night,’ she drawled, unconsciously twirling her hair, that for once was not tied into a bun.

Amy folded her arms and smirked. ‘Was it good?’

Clara stood up and unbuttoned her blouse, revealing at least three hickeys covering her chest and then proceeded to lift her skirt, displaying more along her thighs. Amy high-fived her pal, happy that she was finally getting some and the old man was dishing it out, properly.

‘I’m happy for you. I truly am,’ she said, patting Clara on the shoulder.

As her friend left, she grabbed her phone and messaged John.

Can’t wait to see you tonight.   
Better have an energy drink today.  
You’ll need it for what’s in store later   
*wink*

John’s reply did not take two minutes to pop up on her phone.

I hope you have a good remedy for a sore throat,  
Because I am going to make you scream endlessly.  
Have a great day, darling. I miss you.

Clara snickered and headed down the hall, eyes fixed on her phone as she re-read the message and accidentally bumped into a strong, masculine figure.

‘Oh! I’m so sor-’ she began.

Clara froze in her spot, eyes wide in horror, heart thumping wildly as she stared into the eyes of none other than Danny Pink.

‘It’s quite fine, Dr. Oswald,’ he replied with a sweet voice. 

Before she could turn and walk away, Missy bent the corner. 

‘Oh, there you are darling!’ she said and walked up alongside him and pecked him on the mouth.

Clara thought she was going to be sick. Missy just kissed Danny. Her ex-fiancé. Her boss. They were together?!

‘I see you met our reigning physician, Mr. Pink. This is Dr. Clara Oswald. One of the department’s finest doctors.’

Did Missy just praise her? What the fuck, was going on? She studied their faces carefully and played along, forcing herself to smile and maintain her professional nature.

‘How do you do, Mr. Pink?’ she asked, feeling the bile rise up her throat.

He took her hand and shook it, firmly. Missy smiled, clearly unaware of the history between the two.

‘Mr. Pink is the new investor for the hospital and is going to be around for the next couple of days, surveying and rearranging staff posts and duties,’ she explained with a feline grin.

‘Now, I believe you got some paperwork to finish and we need some help in trauma bays four, five and six. Lots of lovely gashes and oozy wounds to tend to. Now off you go!’

‘See you around Dr. Oswald,’ called Danny as she walked away in a complete daze.

Amy spotted him on her way to the trauma bay and they both exchanged wary stares as they passed each other, without introductory. She immediately ran into the bay she knew Clara was stationed. Upon seeing her face, Amy knew that her friend was aware Danny was here. She looked stressed, face pale and her hands were shaking. Her friend gripped her shoulder and nodded for her to have a seat, while she took over, tending to the patient. Just when things were beginning to go well, Danny Pink just had to show his ugly, face.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Later that day, Clara washed up the utensils and headed to her office. As she entered, she was welcomed with Mr. Pink sitting comfortably in her chair. She instantly turned and was about to leave when he said, ‘You look well, dear.’

‘I’m not your dear,’ she snapped.

He chuckled and stretched his legs onto her desk. 

‘Why are you here?’

‘Didn’t Dr. Saxon already say why, or were you so dazzled by my good looks, you completely forget eh?’

Clara took a deep breath and shoved his feet off her table.

‘Whatever you are here for, I want to make one thing clear. Do not jeopardize my job or my friends and stay the hell away from me!’ she threatened.

Danny stood up and loomed over the small woman, scanning her hungrily.

‘You were always a feisty one Clara. I loved that about you.’

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms, glaring at him.

‘I see you’re modelling too. You looked lovely. It’s a shame things didn’t work out, the way they should of,’ he tormented.

Clara shook with fury and spat, ‘If you didn’t accuse me of things that never were and didn’t slide your cock into another woman, maybe you’d still have me.’

He laughed and leaned forward and whispered into her ear, ‘I did have you. Many times… and I just disposed of the waste when the goods were no longer appealing.’

Clara slapped him across the face.

‘GET OUT!’ she yelled.

Danny rubbed his cheek, annoyance written all over it.

‘Be careful Clara. We don’t want people knowing what a wild animal you were back in the day, or how you were so humiliatingly discarded,’ he warned with a grin, as he left her with an air of unease.


	24. Recognition

Chapter 24

John looked at Clara in surprise as she strolled into his office. She wore her hair down, framing her round face that tumbled over her shoulders into lovely soft waves. He got up and greeted her with a spinning hug. His doctor squealed with delight at the notion and pulled him into a kiss as he set her down gently.

‘You’re here early,’ he commented, pulling her onto his lap. She cupped his face and kissed him again, long and tender before answering, ‘I couldn’t wait to see you.’

John smiled, a sweet, serene smile and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.

‘I’m afraid I’m still doing some post production. Can you wait till I’m done and we can get out of here…?’ he winked at her naughtily. 

She smirked and unbuttoned his shirt,’Orrrr, we could just start now…’

He claimed her lips and ran his palms under her shirt, as she properly straddled him in his chair. A smile crossed his face as he felt no bra. Clara moaned hastily as he rolled her nipples with his thumbs, followed by giving them a light pull. 

‘Oh God, do that again,’ she begged and he happily complied, pulling and twisting, driving her insane with the incoming sensations.

Clara peppered his neck and chest with wet kisses, ensuring to leave a couple purple bruises here and there. 

‘Oh Clara,’ John chanted as she ground against his crotch.

She tortured him by palming him through his trousers, earning her a very desperate look. The young woman gave an innocent face, pretending to be oblivious as to what she was doing.

‘I need to be inside you,’ pleaded John, as she continued to massage his growing length.

She chuckled and grabbed his belt. As she was about to undo his trousers, his office phone rang. 

‘Just a second, darling,’ he groaned unhappily and answered, swearing under his breath for the interruption. 

After two minutes of still conversing over the land line, Clara felt a bit mischievous. She palmed him against his trousers again and he had to stifle a moan. This she kept up, and poor John attempted to bat away her hands so he could focus but to no avail, she kept it up. He grit his teeth hard, as she took him into her mouth, deliberately sucking him slow and licking along his enormous length. His self-control ran out and a moan escaped his lips. John quickly apologized and promised to call back later. As soon as he hung up, Clara stopped and looked up at him naively. 

‘Oh, I’m going to make you pay for that,’ he warned, pulling her to her feet and turning her back to him. 

He tore off her knickers and pushed up her skirt, spreading her legs. He took his member into his hand and slowly entered Clara, who was more than happy to feel him within her.   
The modelesque secretary located outside his office, stopped dead in her tracks while dealing with a customer. They both looked at each other, as muffled cries of pleasure echoed through John’s office door. 

‘Helps the mood for the boudoir shoots,’ she lied, feeling uncomfortable. 

The customer looked at her uncertainly and took the brochure that was being handed to them, before quickly walking away.  
Clara and John lay on his desk in shambles, puffing violently. 

‘I think the entire building heard us,’ proposed Clara, in a fit of giggles. 

John shook his head in amusement and helped her fix her clothing, followed by his own. He took his seat in his chair and Clara hugged him from behind, resuming work as if nothing just happened. 

‘I hope you’re gonna repeat that later in the bedroom, Mr. Smith,’ she purred into his ear.

He chuckled and kissed her hand, pulling open a new folder of images to work on. Clara stopped dead in her tracks and her body tensed. 

‘Oh my God…’ she gasped, staring at the photos on his laptop screen.

John looked up at her, noting the sound of worry in her voice.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, concerned.

‘It’s him… my ex-fiancé…’

His eyes darted between the screen and his terrified girlfriend. 

‘I had a photoshoot with him the other day,’ he explained. ‘Quite an obnoxious fellow.’

‘He was at work today… h-he came to my o-office to see me. He said he was an investor in the hospital I work at… and he’s dating my boss,’ she stammered.

Realization hit John like a brick wall as he understood the reason the man had asked about Clara, when he saw her photo on his wall and the uneasy feeling he got. Instantly he got up and embraced her, attempting to comfort his love. 

‘Did he touch you? Hurt you in anyway?’ he asked, scanning her over.

She shook her head but decided not to tell him about his threat and slapping him. The last thing she wanted was to worry her wonderful boyfriend. Danny was back, but she was not going to let him ruin her second chance at happiness. 

‘If that creep tells you anything out of place, or so much as touches or looks your way, let me know. Do you understand me?’ John ordered.

Clara nodded and buried her face in his chest. She felt happy knowing that John was here with her and she had someone to look out for her besides Amy. However, his words constantly resounded in her mind and she couldn’t help but think that something big was coming. Something that was going to change her life forever and so help her God, she hoped it did not involve losing anyone, especially John. If anything were to happen to him or Amy, she would go to hell and back to find and kill him.

She stared at the photo on the screen and her mind flashed back to her younger, reckless self. Clara was a wild party goer back then, drinking and parading around a pool topless while making out with Danny in the jacuzzi. Sometimes she was so drunk, she never remembered the events of the night before. Most occasions she would wake up naked in his bed, with a serious hangover. She was so madly in love with him at the time, she did almost anything to stay with him, which involved mostly putting up with his arrogance and sadistic sexual tendencies. 

She shuddered, remembering how she hated those moments. It was amazing how he changed after he asked her to marry him and the rate it deteriorated when the entire chicken pox outbreak had affected her social and personal life. Clara grew worried. If her wild past got out, if she crossed Danny, it could cost her, her job, reputation and most importantly… John. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to stay in his good graces, even if it meant sucking up to him.


	25. Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you just love, Danny? :D

Chapter 25

Amy handed Clara a glass of water, as she entered the nurse’s station. Today the air conditioning had broken down and the maintenance team were trying hard to fix it asap. Danny had held a meeting with the staff ten minutes ago, updating them of possible changes in staff duties and what to expect with the new policies he was implementing at the start of the new month. Of course, as an investor you were not exactly entitled to do such, but he was reinstating his rules, through Missy. 

Clara had passed by the head’s office to ask for a file she had borrowed with respect to one of the current patients she was treating and found the two snogging the hell out of each other. That was a scene she was never going to unsee. Ever. She checked her phone and saw a message from John. Her smile quickly fell as she read he was unable to see her later in the evening due to a staff meeting and would be home late from work.

‘Doctor Oswald!’ called that obnoxious voice.

She reluctantly turned around and saw Danny staring at her, a sly grin on his face.

‘May I speak with you in your office?’ he asked, turning on his heel and making his way there.

She hesitantly followed and shut the door behind her. 

‘What do you want?’ she spat.

He chuckled and sat on the edge of her desk. 

‘You look lovely today.’

Clara eyed him suspiciously.

‘If this has nothing to do with my job, then I’m leaving.’

He stood up and blocked her way from the exit, towering over her small frame. She instantly felt caged. What the hell did he want? Was he getting a kick out of terrorizing her?

‘Are you dating that photographer? The old man… John Smith, I think is his name?’

She glared at him, her senses on edge.

‘Who I date is none of your business!’ she hissed.

He pulled out his phone and showed her a photo of them from two days ago, eating ice cream at a local dairy bar, downtown. She looked at him in shock. Was he stalking her?

‘Are you following me?!’ she screamed.

‘Of course, not. Just getting up to date with my lovely ex’s love life. Never took you to be the type to take wrinkly cocks. Then again, I suppose nobody wanted you after you went through me,’ he smirked, proudly.

She walked up to him and proceeded to slap the sick twist, but he foresaw her action and grabbed her arm in mid-air, firmly squeezing her wrist, till it hurt.

‘Clara darling, I’m not here to judge you but rather make amends. I know I made a grave mistake in letting you go and quite frankly want you back in my life.’

Did she just hear, right? Danny wanted her back? 

‘What about Missy?’ she found herself asking. Despite she hated the woman, the entire situation was not fair to her.

‘She’s nobody. Just a little fuck, I picked up. Had no man and wanted a little ride in her life. So, that’s what I gave her, along with her current position.’

Clara thought she was going to be sick. Danny took the opportunity to close the distance between them and snaked his arm around her waist., pulling her close to him, till their chests touched and their faces were mere inches from one another. 

‘I want you Clara. I’m sorry for how I treated you, but I need a stable, beautiful woman by my side right now. It will do well for my public image and yours as well. Being the wife of a wealthy businessman and living in pure luxury… it would be just like old times, yeah?’

She felt her stomach turn and tore herself from his hold, backing away from him.

‘You are a bloody monster. You hurt me and never felt remorse. I finally after all these years have found happiness and I am NEVER going to crawl back to you. So, you can take all your money and luxury and shove it up your fancy arse and get the fuck out of my office!’ she roared, with a fire she did not know she had.  
Danny’s posture changed. His amusement gone. He fisted her shirt and pulled her to him. 

‘Don’t do something you are going to regret, Clara. Think about my offer…’ he tried to bargain and lowered his face in attempt to kiss her. Luckily, she was quick to act, kneeing him in the groin and ran out of her office, straight to Amy. 

Amy held her friend, swearing at the audacity of the man. Danny was a deranged psycho who thought he could get anything he wanted with his money and power. It bothered Clara how he wanted her suddenly after all these years and he had someone following her clearly, based on those photos of her and John. Maybe she should go to the police, but tell them what? Her ex-psycho fiancé was back and had some photos of her and her current boyfriend having a snack? They’d rule it as a random person taking the shots and posting it on facebook. The source could be anyone. 

Her world felt small and constricted. Did Danny have eyes on her all the time? What about John? Was he safe too? Or Amy? She rubbed her temples, a throbbing beginning to grow the more she thought of her dilemma. 

‘Oswald!’ shouted a voice from across the room.

Clara looked up to see a rather pissed off looking Missy, beckoning her into her office.  
She drew a shaky breath and headed towards the old witch. 

‘Yes. Dr. Saxon?’ she asked in the politest voice, she could muster.

‘Can you explain why you displayed an act of violence against Mr. Pink?’ 

Clara was taken aback. Was he such a baby to screel on her?

‘Mr. Pink advanced on me and I felt threatened. It was an act of self defense,’ she said calmly, noting Danny sitting in a chair a few feet away with an ice pack on his crotch, wincing in pain.

‘Mr. Pink is a professional individual and he would not so much as think of touching any staff member, especially one to the likes of you, Dr. Oswald. It is very shady and disrespectful to make up stories. You owe him an apology and your actions are making me look bad as well as the department.’

She scoffed at the ridiculousness of the situation and said, ‘I will not apologize for something that was not my fault especially when my well-being was being endangered.’

Clara crossed her arms and held her head up highly, peering into Missy’s blue-grey eyes. The woman snarled at her and looked across to Danny, and then back at her.

She leant forward and quietly murmured into her ear, ‘If you do not apologize to him, I will ensure that every living soul in the A&E knows about your past with Mr. Pink.’  
Clara’s jaw dropped to the floor. Missy grinned devilishly at her. 

‘Ah yes, I am fully aware of everything my dear. Now, off you go!’

The young doctor boiled with anger and spat at Missy, ‘I know about your story too Missy. All your shakes and sweats, the little trips outside the hospital on certain days…’

Missy shot around at her completely stunned. Touché. 

The brunette walked up to her smiling and challenged, ‘If you want to take me down, I’ll take you down with me. Besides, what I have done was out of youth and stupidity while yours is clear choice.’

The head growled at her, knowing she was busted and had to tread carefully from now on. Dr. Saxon gripped her clipboard in hand and stomped off in a cloud of rage, while Danny sat silently spectating. Clara whipped around and glared at him, disgust written all over her face.

‘If you so much, as get in my way and try that stunt you pulled in my office one more time, I will go to the authorities and file a report against you for sexual harassment, are we clear?!’

He nodded shallowly, profoundly surprised that the once timid and soft Clara he once knew was now a hot pot of determination and fury. 

‘Also, if you threaten me again, or have anyone follow me again… I expose your little woman! Are we clear?!’

She did not wait for an answer. In a rush, she grabbed her stethoscope and clamoured down to the E.R. where she was needed. Danny stared down the path his ex, had just walked through and smirked. She had balls, he gave her that. Missy’s drug addiction was the least of his worries. However, Clara clearly was not going to fall under his charm once again. If you can’t have them, break them, he thought. He laughed to himself as a despicable thought came to mind. Oh, Clara Oswald, you had no idea who you are messing with.


	26. Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whistles*

Chapter 26

John came out of the shower and was met with the sight of Clara sound asleep in his bed. Today she was exhausted and he saw it written all over her face when she walked through his front door, earlier in the afternoon. Nonetheless, she wanted to spend time with him. Lately she was stressed out at work, especially with Danny Pink on the prowl, robbing his beloved of her peace of mind. She mentioned how he had advanced on her and Missy’s threat along with her comebacks that clearly shut the pair up. He praised her for being brave and wanted to gorge Danny’s eyes out, but she talked him out of it, promising that she could handle herself. 

John whipped on a clean pair of underpants and slid under the covers, curling up next to a very underdressed Clara. After he forced her to have some dinner, they ended up making out on the kitchen counter and she dragged him to his room to finish the deed. When she was down to just her knickers, she had let out such a loud, long yawn, John stopped instantly and demanded she take a nap before they went any further. She fell asleep minutes after, with John taking the opportunity to have a shower and relieve himself under the icy water. As he slid an arm under her head, she instantly turned around and rest her head on his chest, pressing her face against his cool, clean skin. 

‘Mhhh, you smell nice,’ she mumbled sleepily, stroking the small, silver tuft of hair on his bony sternum. 

He chuckled and held her hand, planting a kiss on her head. She sighed happily, breathing in his smell of soap and aftershave. As he watched her doze, he felt an overwhelming amount of affection wash over him. He and Clara were dating for six months now and for that entire period, he felt nothing but joy, every single day.  
A few weeks ago, Donna had invited them over, to officially meet his girlfriend and it went well. Melody absolutely took a shine to Clara and Donna adored her. They went shopping after a nice meal and Donna had smuggled her away for a bit. When he found them, he spotted his sister advising Clara on what lingerie was the best to wear and dragged her into the changing room. A few moments later, she had emerged, saying Clara wanted to see him. When he had entered the room, which was thankfully deserted of any female shoppers, he made his way to her occupied cubicle. 

As he pushed the curtain aside, he was awestruck as she stood suggestively against a chair, dressed in a dot meshed open cami set, revealing everything through the sheer fabric. Clara smirked wickedly and pulled him fully into the room, closing the curtain behind them. When they both came out, John’s hair was in a total disarray, his shirt’s top two buttons were missing and was messily tucked into his pants, while his face was flush and his zipper was halfway undone. Clara on the other hand, was calm and collected, neatly dressed and glowing happily while holding his hand. Donna eyed the two of them and burst out laughing, while Melody looked on in confusion. 

Clara. His sweet Clara. He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t worry about her lately. Ever since Danny’s arrival a week ago, she was restless and sometimes edgy. He tried hard to calm her down but there was only so much he could do. However, he noticed she was the most tranquil when nestled in the safety of his arms. He closed his eyes and listened to her steady breathing. It was quiet tonight, not that he minded and the neighbours were probably happy too. Once Clara was over, they’d go at it for hours and neither was particularly the silent lover during sex. 

A soft vibration caught his attention and he reached for his phone across the bed, careful not to wake Clara. It was a video message from an unknown number. Strange, he thought. Spam mail or some silly prank? He clicked it open and the video began to play. It was blurry at first, but then the image sharpened. John’s mouth tightened as his gaze was transfixed to the screen, watching Clara enjoyably have sex with Danny Pink.

He suddenly felt upset. Very upset and enraged. When was this? How long ago had this happened? His mind began to race, his body shifting uncomfortably. Clara woke up and assumed an upright position.

‘What’s wrong, darling?’ she yawned, rubbing her eyes.

John didn’t answer. 

‘John?’ she called, trying to get his attention.

‘I’m fine, Clara. Get some rest,’ he ordered, turning his back to her. 

She frowned, knowing he was lying.

‘Are you sure?’

‘I said I’m fine!’ he snapped.

Clara instantly was taken aback and got out of bed. She walked around to his side and knelt before him, meeting John at eye level.

‘No, you’re not. Talk to me John,’ she begged.

‘I see you still enjoy having fun with your ex!’ he spat and played the video for her.

Clara clamped a hand over her mouth and realized she was watching a sex tape she never knew existed!

‘John, it’s not what it looks like…’ she started.

‘Not what it looks like? I’m seeing you fucking your old boyfriend and I’m misunderstanding this?!’ he yelled.

‘This has to be years ago! I had no idea he even filmed this!’ she explained desperately.

‘It doesn’t look that way to me. Your hair is the same length and colour there as it is now and that’s the same bra you’re wearing there and had on tonight!’

Clara was dumbfounded and felt scared.

‘John please…. I didn’t cheat on you,’ she cried, grabbing his arm.

She shrugged her off and shoved her clothes into her arms.

‘It doesn’t look that way. I want you to leave….’

Clara froze. Was he kicking her out of his house?

‘John…’

He held his hand up to her face, stopping her.

‘I don’t want to see you again after tonight either. I didn’t realize you took me as a joke and you only wanted to be with me to get off. I’m sorry things went that way and it was my fault for misreading your intentions. Have a good life Clara,’ he dictated, purposefully avoiding her stare. 

She tried to walk to him, but he took a few steps back and opened the door for her. Swiftly, Clara chucked on her pants and shirt and left the house. As she sank into her car seat, she looked up at his face, peering at her from his bedroom window. She unwillingly backed out the driveway and made her way down the street. Was this really happening? Did John just break up with her? Her eyes brimmed with tears and her throat hurt. She pulled over onto the side of the road and began to cry. Just when she was finally getting the rays of sunshine in her dark cloud shrouded days, someone came along and took it all away from her. What had she done to deserve this? Why did she have to go through this pain, again?


	27. Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel very unhappy right now... to the point I don't feel like posting anymore :/

Chapter 27

Clara walked slowly into the A&E ward, eyes fixed on her. As she got to her office door, a note marked ‘Slut’ was taped to it. She closed her eyes and knew then on, everyone must have seen the video. Clara quickly unlocked the door and slammed it behind her, heart pounding in her chest. 

A knock resounded moments later, the voice belonging to Amy on the other side. She quickly opened up and her friend filtered in. 

‘What the fuck, Clara?’ was her friend’s way of greeting.

‘I didn’t do it! Not now anyway… this was back then when I was with Danny…’ she attempted to explain.

Amy eyed her and gave her the benefit of the doubt.

‘I believe you. You care about John too much to hurt him, but still… everyone has seen it. The entire hospital knows! They sent it through text messages.’

Clara dropped herself into her arm chair and banged her head against the desk. 

‘This can’t be happening…’ she whispered helplessly.

Another knock on her door resignated. This time it was Missy. Amy let her in and refused to budge, despite being told to leave. The woman beamed at Clara, handing her a small envelope.

‘You’ll be required to withdraw from the hospital as of today, Dr. Oswald. The director and other heads have seen your little video and are most displeased by this scandal. Mind you, they do not wish to harbour any individual with such sleazy track record and have therefore decided to terminate your contract,’ she said, happily.

Clara took the envelope with shaky hands, gazing at the pattern on the paper. 

‘You were warned darling. Just remember.’

Missy admired her nails and continued, ‘I never took you to be the seducing type. Throwing yourself at the hospital’s investor and forcing the man to have sex with you in exchange for a promotion. How crude... tsk, tsk, tsk.’

Clara’s brain was having trouble processing everything, that she barely registered what Missy said. Amy clenched her fists knowing what she said was absolutely false and a cover for the entire situation. This was a set-up. She was sure Danny and Missy devised the entire scheme to get rid of her. The head released an ominous cackle and stepped out, leaving her speechless. Slowly, she opened the envelope and read the terms of notice of termination of her employment at the hospital. Her eyes welled up and she crumpled the letter and tossed it into the waste-bin under the desk. Amy was at a loss for words and simply stared at her friend with the look of complete shock on her face. 

Anger coursed through her veins and she began rummaging through her desk for the memory card and bag of stolen equipment. The normally locked drawer where she kept it had been pried open and was empty. Shit! Someone had been in her office and found it. Now she had nothing to go against her claim of Missy’s drug usage. She should have seized the opportunity to get rid of the bitch when she had the chance, rather than show compassion. Tears began streaming down her eyes, as she started turning over the room. Amy stopped her, clamping her arms to the side of her body.

‘Clara! Get a hold of yourself!’

The little woman began to tremble, eyes red and teardrops streaming down her face like a river. 

‘You need to go to John!’ Amy suggested, still holding her.

John. The man who claimed to love her so much threw her out in seconds. He didn't even want to hear her plight. Hearing his name tore open the old mending wound in her heart, and all her emotions began pouring out. It came out so suddenly, she couldn’t even cry. Instead, she began hyperventilating and her head spun.

‘Clara!’ shouted Amy as her friend crashed to the floor.

Clara pushed her away and crawled towards the door. On shaky limbs, she stood up and left. As she made her way towards the exit, a few patients and staff that were not fond of her hurled insulting names at her. She stopped, faced them and flipped them all off.

‘You all can go to hell! Remember that what goes around, comes around and I will be back,’ she spat, her face filled with resentment and disgust

‘At least I have the guts to show my face here today, unlike the likes of any of you who would cower in a corner and hide. Whatever story you have heard, you can believe it or not. But as God as my witness, I will have justice.’

Her words gained her silence from the crowd and she held her head high, and stood tall as if she had no care in the world; as their eyes followed her out the building.   
The brunette did not let the dirty glances directed at her go unnoticed, as she roamed around the grocery. How many people exactly, saw that video? Given Danny, maybe the entire London population. As she rolled up with her shopping cart at the cashing line, an old man named Wilfred who she befriended years ago, at the store pulled her aside.

‘I saw it,’ he said in a hush hush tone.

‘It came as a message on my phone. I heard the entire hospital saw and they shared it with friends and co-workers. That’s how I got it.’

Clara was numb. Things were getting worse by the second. She needed to get out of the area. Far, far away.

Wilfred took her hand. ‘It ain’t my business lass, but I think you should lay low for a while till it subsides,’ he advised before returning her to the line. 

As Clara packed her groceries into her car trunk, a group of young men came up to her, cat-calling and circling her. 

‘Saw the video lady. Gotta ask, you giving any of that action to other guys? I definitely want it,’ said one of the guys, licking his lips at her hungrily. 

‘Leave me alone!’ she shrieked, trying to push past them. 

One of the others slammed her against the side of the car and boxed her in, laughing lustily. Clara felt terrified and hopeless and by some blessing from above, she saw a police vehicle pull into the parkway.

‘HELP!’ she screamed, catching the officer’s attention. 

The men looked over their shoulder and scattered instantly. Clara wasted no time climbing into her car and hit the gas. The moment she got home, she grabbed her mail and locked all the doors, shut every window. The now unemployed doctor crouched against her kitchen sink and went through the letters. She let out a frustrated scream and threw them across the floor. Her phone began ringing and she saw a message from an unknown number. She opened it and it was the video that began her downfall. As she was about to hurl it across the floor, it vibrated again, but this time it was a message… or a warning? It read:

If I can’t have what I want, then nobody can. 

Enjoy the attention, bitch.

Xoxo


	28. Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a job interview this morning... and it didn't go so well but I feel a bit better and so here's your chapter... I really hope I'm not disappointing you with the way the story is turning out atm. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has been supporting this fic so far and I appreciate every single comment :)

Chapter 28

John stared at his phone’s wallpaper and sighed. It’d been three weeks since the incident with Clara and he was slowly going mad. His days were lonely without her, and his heart ached without seeing that bright smile and small form nestled in his bed or occupying his favourite seat in front the telly, wearing his polka dotted shirt she loved so much. He was such a fool for treating her the way he did that and regretted it immensely.

The first four days after their spat, she called him endlessly, left voice notes, text and whatsapp messages. John never listened to or read any, just deleted them along with that horrid video. The betrayal gnawed at him endlessly and he felt used. Donna had found out eventually, noticing the change in her brother’s mood and the absence of Clara over an extended period.

She was shocked but at the same time suspicious about the entire plight, believing Clara would never do such an act, not while she was happily dating her brother. Truth be told, John had pondered about that too, but he was so caught up in his fervor that he failed to analyse the bigger picture; that something indeed may be afoot. After all, Danny Pink was a shady character and his sudden re-interest in his ex-fiancé should send more than enough alarms ringing. 

Amy bustled into his office, wearing a face of anguish. 

‘Is Clara here?!’ she questioned, without greeting. 

He knitted his eyebrows, ‘No… I haven’t seen, heard or spoken to her since I saw the video.’

Amy paced up and down the room, frantically biting her nails.

‘Did something happen?’ he implored, uneasily. 

‘I can’t find her! She’s not answering her phone when I call and every time I visit her home, she’s never there. Her car’s parked in the garage but the lights are always off and the doors are locked!’

John stood up and dialled her number on his mobile. It went straight to voicemail. 

‘When last did, you visit?’

‘An hour ago, but it’s been like this two weeks now! At night, I pass by and the house is always in complete darkness. I can’t even find her spare key to let myself in and see if she’s in there,’ the ginger explained.

‘I have the spare key. Let’s go,’ he voiced and grabbed his coat.

John unlocked Clara’s front door with ease and turned on the light as he and Amy entered. The place smelled musty, as if the windows had not been opened for decades. Everything was in place, except for scattered papers all over the floor. John bent over and picked them up, his temper flaring as he flipped through the blasphemous taunts. 

‘Clara?’ called Amy, as she headed upstairs. 

John opened her refrigerator. The bread sitting on the top shelf was beginning to grow mould and the milk smelt rancid. Clearly these items haven’t been touched for a while. He made his way to her bedroom, meeting Amy halfway across the room, sifting through her nightstand for any clues as to where she could have disappeared to. He noted the unmade bed and stack of dirty laundry in the corner of the room.

Clara was missing. He didn’t even give her a chance to explain herself. After all the time, they had been together, he shut her out in seconds from a video that couldn’t have been real. He felt ashamed, the guilt eating him. He should have been more concerned about her well-being instead of assuming she was coping fine with Danny around. Maybe she just didn’t want to worry him and never said much. This was all his fault. He wasn’t there for her. He didn’t protect her when he should have. Oh God, how was Clara coping?   
Maybe she was being terrorized and went into hiding because she felt so ashamed? People were not kind and he was not either to her. He pulled at his hair and felt horrible. When and hopefully no if, they found her, he prayed she would hear him out and forgive him. 

‘This is all my fault,’ he mumbled.

Amy smacked him hard at the back of his head.

‘Not entirely but you shouldn’t have abandoned her you arsehole! This entire thing that happened is a set up and we need to get to the bottom of it, with your help,’ she scolded and kicked him in the shin.

‘I can’t believe you actually did that to her! Clara really likes you John and I know her well enough to know she would never cheat on you. If that video is truly legit then it must be a secret camera recording done by Danny, when they were still together.’

John fell back onto the bed, rubbing his leg and head as the pain throbbed mercilessly.

‘Any ideas where else she might go?’ he asked, changing the subject.

‘I don’t know. I’ve called the hospital, looked around the grounds, went to her favourite spots around town and I found nothing. Nobody has seen her but they did make sure to mention the video and I swore at all of them.’

‘Let’s look around the house and see if we can find any clues, yeah?’ he proposed.

Amy combed the entire upstairs of the house, while John tackled below. After half an hour, they came up empty-handed.

‘What are we going to do?’ groused Amy.

John sighed and rubbed his eyes. The stress was beginning to get to him and he was on edge. He took a seat at the kitchen table and tried to think of all the places he and Clara went. Nothing came to mind. His eyes wandered aimlessly around the living room and he spotted the picnic basket. Of course! He grabbed his keys and ran out the door.  
‘Where are you going?’ cried Amy.

‘To the orphanage!’ 

He drove like a mad man, breaking the speed limit and thankfully was not flagged down by a cop. As he pulled up in front of the building, he stormed in and was met by Sister Jackie.

‘Is Clara here?!’ he demanded, without saying a proper hello.

‘Y-yes. She’s been here for weeks now and hasn’t been herself lately. Is everything ok?’

John ignored the nun’s question and asked, ‘Where is she?’

The nun studied the desperation on John face and calmly answered, ‘The garden.’


	29. Effects of events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware that there are people who are not pleased how the story is turning out and those who are enjoying it. 
> 
> To those who are not, I'm sorry it turned out that way and wish it could have been to your liking but I hope you stick through till the end!
> 
> For those who do, thank you for reading and I hope you also stick around till the end!
> 
> Let's see how Clara's been lately.

Chapter 29

John ran from the entrance of the orphanage all the way to the garden at the back. As the rays of sunlight hit his skin, he scanned the surroundings for any sign of his beloved. Nothing. He briskly walked around, peeking over the mini hedges and patches of herbs growing here and there. She was nowhere to be seen. He nervously raked his hand through his hair as beads of sweat formed on his brow. 

A sad melody began to play in the distance. It sounded like a violin. Bingo. He slowly followed the tune, leading him to the rooftop. Slumped on a broken-down stool with her back turned to him, was Clara, slowly performing a rather depressing song. Her hair was frizzy, dull and flat, her shoulders drooped and head bowed. 

‘Clara?’ he called, carefully.

She ceased her playing and placed the violin down. Her back straightened but she did not turn around. John walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and shied away from him, tripping over her feet and banged her head against the brick wall. He quickly went to her aid and helped her up, but she shoved him away, angling her face in the opposite direction. 

‘Go away, John,’ she sputtered, picking up the instrument and rubbing her head.

John felt his heart in his throat and knew he deserved it but was not one to back down. 

‘I’m sorry for sending you away. I’m sorry for not listening to you…well trying to listen to you.’

He took a step towards her.

‘I should have trusted and put more faith in you… but I was so upset… I couldn’t think straight and I was being stupid,’ he tried to explain.

‘It doesn’t matter anymore,’ she dismissed and walked past him. 

He grabbed her arm and she tried to pry herself free, but John’s grip was strong and he held on.

‘What do you want?!’ she hurled at him, her voice cracking.

‘You! I want you, Clara! I came to find you and bring you home!’ he argued.

‘What home?! With you?! I have no job! My reputation and life is over!’ she rasped, choking back tears.

John swivelled her around and attempted to hug her but instead was rewarded with a slap across his face. He stood, stunned for a few seconds.

‘You want to hit me? Hit me some more. I deserve it! Hit me, Clara!’ he spat.

She complied, slapping him once, twice, three times. His face stung but he took the pain, imagining this was nothing compared to what she must be feeling. Her body shook as she slapped him once more before fisting his shirt and shaking him roughly, screaming in frustration. Clara loosened her grip as her blaring was eventually replaced with sobs. She backed away and slinked against the brick wall, burying her head in her lap, trembling violently.

The old man bent down and enveloped her with his long, thin arms. This time, she didn’t fight back. He pressed her head against his chest and rocked them back and forth, whispering how sorry he was in her ear, repeatedly. Clara slouched defeatedly in his embrace and whimpered silently. 

‘I’m never going to let anyone hurt you again and I promise to make up for this for the rest of my life,’ he promised.

Without warning, he hoisted her into his arms and took her back to his place.

John was stumped when he looked at Clara’s skinny frame, as she got into the tub. Her ribcage was almost visible, face sunk in and under her eyes were decorated with dark circles. He rolled up the long sleeves of his blue sweater and dunked a large volume of shampoo into his palm, before working it into a lather in Clara’s hair. After her screaming episode, she was silent as the grave, not so much as uttering a peep. He ensured to message Amy informing her that he found her, while on their way home, in the event she was still out looking for her chum.

The silver fox gently wrapped the doctor into one of his bathrobe noting a healing cut on her hand and the bitten fingernails, that were once well manicured. He put her in bed and force fed her some warm soup, till the bowl was completely empty. John produced the polka dotted shirt she loved so much for her to wear. A hint of a smile appeared on her face when she saw it but refused to take it.

‘Well, you have to wear something. You can’t sleep in a robe all night,’ he complained, waving the shirt at her.

She looked at him with sad eyes and leaned forward, pushing up the sweater he currently wore. He frowned and took it off, chuckling as she pulled it over her skinny body. Clara sighed, feeling the warmth from his skin mingling with the soft fabric and John’s own special smell that clung to it. He smiled as she pulled the neck of the clothing to her nose and inhaled deeply. She looked like she fought off cookie monster in a battle and wore his pelt as a victory prize. 

‘Do you need anything, darling?’ he asked, gently caressing her face.

Her eyes began to well up at his expression of affection. He gave her a troubled look and proceeded to walk away, guilt once again swallowing him. Instead, she took his hands and placed them on either cheek, cupping her face. She closed her eyes and savoured the warmth of his hands, as a tear trickled down her face. John bent forward and kissed away the pearl, earning a shudder from Clara. 

The young woman stepped onto his feet and wrapped her arms around his waist. John stared into her eyes, understanding her silent request. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and swayed slowly as he hummed a random tune. They remained that way till Clara began to drift off and John tenderly scooped her up and tucked her under the sheets. He sat beside her, taking in her features as he stroked her hair. 

John could never forgive himself for what he did, but he sure as hell was going to try and make up for it. His first agenda, finding the source of that tape and giving Clara her life back. He dialed Amy and let her in on his plans of action and she immediately complied, to give her friend the justice she deserved. Danny Pink and Dr. Missy Saxon were going down and had no idea of the incoming storm that lay ahead.


	30. The Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super-long chapter for you guys... enjoy.

Chapter 30

Clara woke up to sunlight streaming through the window. As she sat up, she noticed she was no longer in the orphanage, but John’s bedroom. A faint sweet smell tickled her nose and her eyes fell on a large bouquet of roses, resting on the bedside table next to her, with a note.

Good morning, beautiful!  
Stepped out to get some of your things.  
Be back soon.  
-Your sexy silver fox ;)

She picked up the arrangement and sniffed them, before climbing out of bed and putting them in a vase of water. The clattering of keys made her jump, followed by endless chattering.

‘Aunty Clara!’ cheeped Melody, running up to her for a hug. 

The brunette took the child in her arms and kissed her cheek.

‘I missed you,’ she pouted, ‘and so did Uncle Johnny. He kept staring at his phone and looked so sad.’

‘Alright now, dear. That’s enough,’ came Donna as she waltzed in. She tore Melody away from Clara and gave her a big bear hug.

‘We know everything and we’re going to fix it,’ she said with determination.

‘Indeed, we are,’ confirmed John, lugging a small blue suitcase with Amy behind him.

‘What’s going on…?’ the young woman asked, observing the gathering of familiar faces. 

‘We’re going to beat up the bad guys!’ shouted Melody excitedly.

Donna clapped a hand over the little girl’s mouth and gave a cheeky grin before directing her to watch some telly. 

‘How about you put some proper clothes on and then we can discuss everything?’ Amy suggested with Donna adding, ‘She might need some help ridding of that sweater John…’

The ginger and his sister both grinned deviously at him.

John blushed hard and gave Clara a shy smile. She gave a blank stare and they both clamoured upstairs, along with the suitcase. As the bedroom door shut, he pulled her into a hug.

‘How are you feeling, today?’ he breathed against her neck.

‘Okay, I guess…’ she whispered, not returning the hug.

‘I’m so sorry about what I did and I hope you can forgive me.’

She looked up at him, her face still showing signs of distress.

‘You can make it up to me, by helping me get the justice I deserved,’ she said through gritted teeth.

‘I promise to be there for you, no matter what and whatever the outcome or the circumstances faced or accusations, I will stand by your side. I will never send you away again. Ever.’

Clara sniffled, emotions getting the better of her as she began to tremble. John cupped her face and kissed her, softly. She did not return the favour, and looked away as soon as his lips broke contact. He really blew it. The slightest body contact he made with Clara, it usually took a lot of manpower to tear her off him. Now, she barely seemed to want him to touch her.

‘You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?’ he asked sadly.

She didn’t reply and opted for peering out the window. He left her alone and went downstairs. Donna and Amy looked at him in amazement, Donna having glanced at her watch and frowned in disappointment.

‘Five minutes? You haven’t seen the woman for weeks and you have sex for only five minutes?’ she complained.

Amy giggled, sipping from a large blue mug.

‘She’s still upset with me. I can barely kiss her without feeling the anguish,’ he divulged, with a loud sigh.

‘Well it’s your bloody fault,’ his sister and Amy said in unison.

John glared at them and stomped off into the sitting room.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Donna entered the bedroom, noticing Clara lying in a foetal position on John’s bed.

‘Hey love,’ she greeted, softly.

Clara looked up and gave a half smile.

‘Can we chat for a bit? A little girl on girl time?’ she asked, cautiously. 

The doctor sat up and brushed away the tears that coated her cheeks and nodded.

‘How are you holding up?’

‘It haunts me. Everyday.’

Donna took her hand in hers and stroked it.

‘I understand and you’re mad at my brother for what he did, yes?’

Clara averted her eyes and stared at a pair of striped socks discarded on the bedroom mat.

‘Listen, everyone makes mistakes. Big ones, small ones, stupid ones… What my brother did was despicable and I hammered him night and day for throwing you out like that and for his stupidity. He did eventually realize that he was wrong, after grilling him endlessly for details about what happened. I saw the video and instantly knew it wasn’t you,’ she explained.

‘You know, John is just really sensitive when it comes to you and it’s no surprise he felt upset. I’m not saying what he did was right, and he could have heard you out. He’s been crazy without you and he loves you dearly. Everyone deserves a second chance, especially him. It’s alright if you’re upset but forgive him at least, else you will forever be in this depressed hole. I know you have feelings for him as well and I pray that things work out. The important thing now, is that he’s trying to right the wrong he did and make amends. At least grant him that… and beat the shit out of him too.’

Donna gave Clara a hug and left her in silence. As she returned downstairs, she dragged John into the kitchen.

‘Go and tell her you’re sorry,’ she scolded.

‘I already tri-’

His sibling smacked him at the back of his head twice and shoved him towards the staircase.

‘Because of you, that girl has suffered far more because you did not give her the support she needed! Try harder you dimwit, or I’m going to stop bringing Melody over to see you and destroy every camera you own!’

He rubbed his head and glared at her, but then chuckled knowing his sister was trying to mend his currently broken relationship.

‘Well do as the woman says!’ called Amy, who stood peeping at the two from around the corner.  
\----------------------------------------------

‘Clara?’ he called before opening the door. 

He found her sitting on the bed, staring at the printed selfie photo that began it all. John sat beside her and took the photo from her hands.

‘You know, I wanted to ask you out that day but I hesitated because you wanted to be just friends back then and I wanted to respect that and not drive you away,’ he said with a sad sigh.

‘I didn’t even get to tell you how delicious those cookies you baked, were.’

Silence.

‘Clara… please don’t shut me out … I know I’ve done wrong…’ his voice cracked.

‘I know I’m causing you great pain, but please, talk to me. I want to make things right… but if you want to go separate ways,’ he took a deep breath, ‘I’ll do as you wish and won’t ever disturb you again. You’ll never hear from me after today or see me and-’

A stinging sensation across his cheek prevented him from going any further.

‘Shut up!’ she hissed and slapped him again.

He looked at her stunned; her lovely brown eyes red and filled with rage.

‘Just shut up!’

‘Clara-’

She pulled his hair, hard and punched him in the stomach. He fell onto the bed, wincing in pain. Clara climbed on top of him and attempted to slap him again but he overpowered her and flipped them over. She growled in frustration, trying to redeem control. John chuckled at her effort, eventually bursting out into laughter. 

‘What’s so funny?’ she yelled at him.

He laughed harder, releasing his grip. She snarled at him and proceeded to punch him, but he easily blocked the attack and kissed her. Clara growled and squirmed under him, as he kept his lips pressed against hers, the anger and frustration of everything that happened boiling inside. Every unhappy memory of her life flashed in her mind but were quickly replaced by her happy ones. Her friend Amy, her friendly patients… John. Every happy time they had together flooded through her; the wedding night, the photoshoot, the afterwork visits, the many nights they shared together, the person that saved her from her solitude.

John broke the kiss and stared into her eyes.

‘John,’ she sobbed, ‘My John…’

He immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, as she kept whispering his name. 

‘I forgive you. I don’t want you to go,’ she cried, face buried in his chest.

He rocked them back and forth, soothing her as best as he could. When she calmed down, he cupped her face and once again told her he was sorry and promised to never mistreat her again. She smiled for the first time in weeks and they lay on the bed, cuddling and enjoying the other’s company for the first time in a long time.

‘I missed you,’ he mumbled into her hair, as she interlaced their fingers.

‘I missed you too,’ she replied, running her hands through his silver hair. 

John closed his eyes and enjoyed her gentle touch. He was pleasantly surprised when he felt her cool, soft lips atop his, in the sweetest of kisses. The shutterbug looked at her and smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

‘Make love to me,’ she requested, yearning overtaking her features.

John crushed his mouth against hers, kissing her ravenously. He kissed her like he was drowning and she was oxygen, raking his hand over every part of her body; exploring her as if it were their last time together. John pulled off the sweater she wore and impatiently rid of his own clothing. He hovered over her, completely nude and showered her body with affection agonizingly slow, ensuring that every part his lips touched was a promise to her. A promise to love her despite whatever happened and to never let her go. He parted her legs and lapped at her juices, as if he were starved for centuries; nipping and sucking with exquisite precision. 

Clara arched her back, endlessly seeking more as he worked her with his tongue. When she began writhing under him, he let her take control and allowed her to grind herself onto his mouth mercilessly, until she shouted in bliss, as her release swamped her. John brought his lips to hers, letting her taste herself. She took hold of his thickness and pumped his shaft until he was leaking pre-cum and felt his head was read to explode. 

He penetrated her without hesitation, savouring the well polished channel he drove into, hot and tight. She hooked her ankles onto his hips, allowing him to drive further inside. The feel of him filling her, drove her wild; his slender thumb working at her nub simultaneously pushing her closer to the edge. She marked his back with long scratches as his pace began to increase, the burning sensation motivating him to work harder and faster. Her hands clamped onto his arse, pushing and guiding him to the rhythm she needed. She wanted. Clara’s nails dug into his cheeks as his thrusts grew uncoordinated, needy and he fisted the sheets on either side of his beloved’s head as he emptied himself within her with a needy groan. He kept pulsing into her, riding out the waves of ecstasy until her walls began to pulse violently and the sweet cry of passion filled the room, raw and loud.  
John pulled out and rest his head on her sweat soaked chest, the house silent except for their uneven breathing.

The twosome returned downstairs freshly washed and clothed. The two awaiting women gave them wicked grins, knowing exactly what happened.

‘Judging from those sounds, I take it went very well,’ teased Amy. 

Clara rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, demanding they get down to business. Amy went into detail of overhearing Danny arguing with Missy about how reckless she was about her drug addiction, leaving crumbs behind for others to follow. However, it did not stop her regular weekly suppliers from visiting her outside the workplace. On top of this, she informed that Rory had seen Danny around town a few nights ago, outside the local pub they hung out, picking up a young woman who looked very like Clara, except it wasn’t her. 

Judging from the way she was dressed, he assumed she was a call girl. He had followed them to a hotel nearby and noticed his car still parked when he passed by the next day on his way to work. Apparently, he was having an affair without Missy’s knowledge. Amy very cleverly had filmed Missy’s interactions with the hooded men, which was good enough evidence to use on her. It was getting Danny to admit he released the video was the problem. They argued back and forth on possible methods they could try, until Clara suggested she used herself as bait, having wired herself and have a hidden camera, filming the entire sequence of events. John was immediately against the idea but the others agreed it was quite effective and boosted the sickening ego Danny had. It was clear he had sent that message to her and if she came crawling back to him, he would more than accept his victory and even spill everything… hopefully.

Donna’s old boyfriend Casey, was a detective in the police department and kept a good relationship with her, despite their past history. He admitted to seeing the video and said it was a hit on social media and how he felt badly for the unfortunate circumstances Clara was now faced with. The group of friends revealed their intentions to the officer who admitted was a risky deal, but would aid them in seeking the justice Clara deserved. He also believed it would set an example and encourage other young women who fell victim to the same feat, to stand up for themselves and take action.

Amy handed over the small SD card with the recording of Missy’s suspicious meetings to Casey. He viewed it in and said he recognized one of the two men as well known drug dealers around the central London area. They had turf wars and run-ins with the police recently, and managed to get away uncaught, relocating to another part of the city. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. The detective shook each of their hands and smiled, setting a date for the operation. John held Clara’s hand under the desk and squeezed it tight. Soon everything will be back to normal, but first, they needed to deal with Danny.


	31. The Set Up

Chapter 31

Clara dialled Danny’s old cell number, in hopes he didn’t change it. As she was about to hang up after the fourth ring, someone answered on the receiving end.

‘Danny Pink,’ announced the abhorrent voice.

‘Hello Danny. It’s Clara.’

A chuckle filled the line. She could imagine him grinning joyously at the trouble he caused. 

‘Clara, darling. Learnt your lesson yet?’ he chided, happily.

‘That was a tactless, mean thing to do Danny. Not to mention the text… now people think I’m a slut. I lost my job, my good reputation…’

‘I did warn you darling,’ he sang into the phone.

‘I want to apologize to you. In person. I should have taken you up on your offer. Is it still open?’ she asked, trying to sound as desperate and convincing as possible.

The line was silent for a moment before he chuckled again and said, ‘For you Clara dear, I’ll take you back in a heartbeat. Meet me at Claridge’s Hotel tonight. Wear something short and sexy, preferably in black. Oh and… make sure those tits are on display,’ he ordered.

Clara clutched the phone, her grip on her temper slowly unravelling.

‘I’ll see you later Mr. Pink.’

As the line disconnected, she growled in disgust. Amy and Donna wore scorned looks while detective Casey looked unimpressed and John held her protectively. Clara had put the phone on loud speaker for everyone to hear the conversation, ensuring Danny took the bait. The officer made notes and a separate recording of the incident on his memo and advised everyone accordingly on how to act.

‘Woah!’ commented Amy and Donna, while John wolf whistled at Clara, strolling into her living room in a short, tight, plunging necked, halter dress, showing off her toned legs and too much cleavage. 

Casey hooked on a mini microphone along the bodice of the dress and a mini camera disguised as a brooch. 

‘Okay. If he advances or tries to do anything to harm you, remember to scream and we’ll bust into the room,’ he briefed. Clara nodded and they all headed to the hotel.

As Clara got out, she grew nervous, fumbling with her coat. John got out and pulled her aside, giving her a voice of encouragement. She grabbed him and kissed him hard.

‘I love you,’ he whispered into her ear, before watching her take the elevator.

The ride to the penthouse left like forever. As the doors dinged open, Clara found herself in a well-lit corridor, ending in two massive white doors with golden handles. She gave a light knock against the hardwood and waited. It clicked open seconds later and she entered a luxurious room. In the middle, Danny sat wide legged on a white sofa.

‘Mmmm, Clara. You look delicious,’ he complimented., scanning her over.

He patted the seat beside him, beckoning her to join him. She did as instructed and he wasted no time pouncing on her. He felt disgusted as he cupped her breast, praying that he did not feel the hidden equipment underneath and began sucking an earlobe. She pushed him off and created some distance between them. 

‘Why’d you do it?’ she blurted, stalling him from whatever intentions he had.

He smirked and slouched in his seat. 

‘It was to teach you a lesson. A valuable and costly one, but one, nonetheless,’ he explained.

‘But a sex tape? You recorded us having sex, years ago! Why would you go so far to destroy me, Danny? That’s not love, or caring about someone,’ she hissed.

‘Oh darling. There was never a sex-tape with us. That was Candy. My little on the side. She happens to look a lot like you though. I asked her to put on a wig and bought her a pair of your favourite knickers and taped us doing the nasty.’

Clara felt her jaw drop. The same moment she was about to hurl profanity at him, the bedroom door opened and in strolled a topless Candy.

‘Oh! I didn’t know we were expecting company, love. Who’s this?’ she asked sweetly.

‘The woman you portrayed in that video we shot.’

Candy looked Clara up and down and snickered. 

‘What about Missy? Does she know about this? And that story… about me throwing myself at you…?’

Danny burst out laughing.

‘Oh my dear Clara. You were always so naïve. I made that story up so Missy wouldn’t get upset and suspect I’m fucking Candy. I just made it look like you forced my hand. Besides, she means nothing to me.’

He closed the gap between them.

‘So are you going to apologize to me now, or what?’ he growled, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. She slapped away his hand and spat in his face.

‘Don’t you dare touch me!'

‘Oi!’ disturbed Candy, coming over to wipe Danny’s face. 

As she was done, he handed her a small white packet which she happily accepted. Clara watched as the woman opened it and made a long line on a silver platter, bent over and snorted the powder.

‘You deal with drugs too?’ she hissed.

‘Mildly. I have a deal with Missy’s suppliers,’ he chortled.

‘You’re despicable!’ she shouted at him and turned to walk away.

Danny grabbed her arm and tossed her on the couch. Candy scooted across to give him room, as he threw himself on top of Clara and pushed up her dress. She fought in vain but he easily overpowered her. As he began unfastening his pants, she kneed him in the stomach and gave him a good left uppercut in the nose. Candy disliked seeing Danny get hurt and threw herself onto Clara’s back, shrieking like a caged animal.

Suddenly, the main doors to the room opened and the detective along with John rushed in. Casey peeled the woman off Clara and cuffed her, while John whisked his girlfriend towards the door.

‘You bitch!’ screamed Danny and hurled himself at the doctor. 

John intervened and landed a punch to his face. Danny fell to the floor, nose bloody and face red. He slowly got up and swung at the shutterbug, missing by a milestone. The old man swung another punch at him, this time aiming at his stomach. 

The entrepreneur sagged into his fist and John leaned forward and said, ‘That’s for Clara.’

He connected another fist in the same area, ‘That’s for everything you cost her and the misery you put her and me through.’

The last blow was a knee to his groin and the silver fox held him up long enough to say to his face, ‘And that’s for me.’ 

He towered over the bloodied face, as the wealthy man rolled around on the floor in pain. Casey handed Candy over to John and asked him to escort her to the waiting car downstairs while he handcuffed Danny and recited his rights. 

Clara watched as the detective shoved Danny into the backseat and spat at him, ‘Enjoying the attention now bitch?’

‘My lawyers will end you and you little show, Clara! You mark my word! You can’t prove anything!’ 

He glared up at her and she pulled out the hidden camera. His face grew grave and worried.

‘Smile. You’ve been caught!’


	32. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Danny's turn came... what about Missy?

Chapter 32

The court battles the following months were horrendous. Fortunately, luck was on Clara’s side as the jury found Danny guilty for trafficking and distribution of illegal drugs including cocaine and heroin, domestic abuse to women and false accusation and destruction of moral reputation of innocent citizen, Dr. Clara Oswald. Danny despite having a very good lawyer, was ratted out by Candy, who was under the firing line for her long line of illicit history including her narcotic addiction. 

His trial was broadcasted over local news until resolved and a public statement was made by himself and the judge condemning the sex tape; deeming Dr. Clara Oswald was not the female participant, but Candy. Alongside that, he was sentenced ten years in jail along with two hundred hours of community service. The law caught up with Missy and a police team stormed her office, but she perhaps was tipped off that they were coming and had gone into hiding. Clara was given her job back at the same hospital and a huge apology was sent signed by the director and all staff members. Things resumed normalcy after a month, despite Missy’s disappearance was still a mystery. 

The small woman pulled into her garage a little after ten that night, exhausted after a long day’s work and endless concessions. Stepping out the vehicle, she was confronted by a tall hooded figure, a few feet in front of her.

‘Don’t move,’ the person hissed and revealed their face. 

It was Missy. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days and her entire body shook. Withdrawal symptoms or in need of a fix, Clara thought.

‘You ruined my life. You took him away from me,’ she sneered.

‘You knew what he gave Missy… get over it.’

The old witch cackled and pulled out a hand gun, pointing it at Clara.

‘I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance!’ she spat and pulled the trigger.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Clara awoke to the familiar sound of beeping monitors and winced as a stinging feeling shot up her leg. Her vision was fuzzy and her body twinged with pain. 

‘Clara?’ called a distant voice.

The room began spinning as a blurry face came into view.

‘Darling?’ came the voice again. 

It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. The person took her hand and gently squeezed it. She knew someone who did that. They traced a finger down the contour of her cheek and she felt something wet drip onto her face, followed by a sniffle. Tears? Her vision slowly grew clearer as the person continued to hold onto her hand and stroke her face. She blinked a couple of times, eyes sensitive to the light and could now properly make out the ceiling tiles and the old, gritty hospital walls… and her loving silver fox.

‘John…’ she murmured.

He wiped at his eyes and smiled at her, taking a seat on the bed.

‘Hey sunshine…’ she croaked, reaching up to grab a handful of his silver curls.

‘Hey to you too,’ he answered back.

‘What happened?’ she asked, trying to sit up.

‘You were shot, in the leg and took a good banging to the head. You lost a lot of blood, but luckily we’re the same type… I’ve been so worried!’

‘It was Missy… she attacked me…’

‘We know. A police car patrolling nearby heard the shot and saw her towering over your body,’ he informed.

‘Did they get her?’

‘Yes. Now she’s behind bars, far away from us.’

John took her hand in his and placed it above his heart.

‘I’m sorry for everything. I should have known better and I want you to know that I am so proud of what you did with Danny and going back to work, facing those demons… and most of all, giving me another chance when I cruelly turned you away.’

Clara put her fingers to his lips and shushed him. She gave him a weak smile and made room for him to lie beside her. He gratefully accepted the invitation and she rest her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

‘Can you sing that song for me?’ she asked out of the blue, ‘The one from the wedding.’

John chuckled and complied, softly serenading Clara back into sleep.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------  
Two weeks later

‘Surprise!!!’ shouted the gang as Clara hopped through the door in crutches, with John’s helpful aid. 

Donna, Casey, Mr and Mrs Williams and Melody all gathered around her cutely decorated living room, welcoming her back home. Melody was the first to embrace her, followed by her mother and then her friends. John helped her sit down and they all flocked on her couch, catching up with old times and had lots of cake. As the evening wore on, they dissipated, leaving her to get her bed rest.

‘I’ll see you soon, dear,’ said Donna, giving her a quick air kiss. She eyed her brother who was quiet for the entire event.

‘Oi! Spaceboy!’ she called.

He looked up at her and came over, giving her a bear hug.

‘You take care of her, you hear me?’ she scolded.

He laughed and walked her and the youngling to their car.

‘She needs you, John…more than you know, especially your love. You should tell her how you feel. Maybe it’ll help her deal with everything that’s happened lately. It’s been no rainbow and pot of gold.’

He nodded and gave Melody a kiss, handing over her pink My Little Pony backpack and watched them drive off. Tonight, he decided to do more than tell Clara how he felt, his heart lurching as he felt the small item stored in his jacket pocket. Before going inside, he checked her mailbox and found a small white envelope with her hospital’s address plastered over it. John frowned and couldn’t help but let curiosity get the better of him, as he opened it. Reading the contents, he released a howl of laughter and stuffed the piece of paper back into its jacket. Tonight was going to be filled with surprises… he hoped to God her little heart could take it and for once, her entire life from now on could only be filled with happiness.


	33. Never Let Me Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would thank you thank everyone so, so, soooooooooooooooooo much for reading this fic and making it a success!
> 
> This was my first ever story and I was not expecting it to get this much attention and after chapter five I wanted to toss it out the window!
> 
> Many thanks for the wonderful comments and the kudos. I know some people may or may not have enjoyed the turn of events between John and Clara and I am sorry it turned out that way, but I am glad for the feedback and I shall take it to heart and use it to improve future stories I may write.
> 
> If you loved or hated the story, please let me know and again thank you so much!
> 
> I have another story in the making and here is the synopsis:
> 
> On A Midnight Clear (Werewolf AU)
> 
> Summary
> 
> Clara Oswald is a travelling journalist with a keen interest in small, unknown towns. After accidentally making a wrong turn, she encounters the sleepy, isolated community of Gallifrey nestled deep in the mountainside. Her intentions were to find her bearings and get back on the road, but when she totals her car after encountering an oversized wolf the following night, she has no choice but to extend her stay; unearthing strange occurrences, past history and being swept off her feet by the wealthy and charming town owner known only as ‘the Doctor’.
> 
> Coming soon!!

Chapter 33

John and Clara lay in the tub, soaking and enjoying the quiet time together. They barely spoke since she had arrived home, her attention diverted amongst the visiting guests. The shutterbug pulled back her hair and lay light kisses along the back of her shoulder and neck. She smiled and tilted her head back to look at him, with smiling eyes. 

‘How’s the leg?’ he quizzed.

‘Could be better,’ she replied in almost a whisper.

‘Everything alright?’

She didn’t reply and they sat in silence for the rest of their bath. John helped Clara out the tub and into her black night dress. While he fumbled for a pair of boxers, she tended to her healing wound. The bullet had gone straight through her leg. It’d take a while to heal but would leave an ugly little scar. She frowned, thinking of how it would look when she wore her mini-skirts and short pants when the summer rolled around. John would probably hate her legs would look now. He took a seat beside her and she quickly covered up the injury.

He knitted his caterpillar eyebrows and placed a hand on her upper thigh. She felt uncomfortable with his touch so close to the source of her developing scar and quickly batted his hand away.

‘Is that what this is about?’ he stressed, moving the blanket she used to conceal herself.

Clara looked away, her eyes downcast. He placed his index finger beneath her chin and made her face him. She looked into those adoring blue eyes and saw all the concern he felt.

‘It’s not going to look the same anymore… in the bikinis, lingerie… shorts…’ she whined.

John cupped her face and shook his head.

‘The scar means nothing, once you are alive and well. You will always be beautiful to me.’

She smiled at him and brushed her lips against his.

‘I love you, John. I love you, so much…’ Clara confessed.

He smiled and stroked her hair.

‘Oh, Clara Oswald. My Clara…’ he began.

‘I love you too… and that’s why I want to ask you something… life-changing…’

Clara frowned and then gasped as John went down on one knee before her.

‘I know we’ve been through a lot for the past year and almost a half. We’ve had good times and bad times. I know I haven’t been the best boyfriend or lover or protector… but one thing I know, is that you’ve made me into a better man. A new man. I thank the stars every day for you and for the accident…’ he paused, taking in a shaky breath.

‘I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you… and those weeks when we were apart after the scandal, I felt empty. Alone… and I can’t see myself living without you, which is why I want to ask you this…’

He pulled out a small velvet box from his pajama pants and opened it, revealing a small simple gold band, nestled in the middle.

‘Clara Oswald, the amazing doctor that saved my life and enjoys shagging me in my office on the busiest of days… will you marry this crazy fifty-three-year-old idiot?’

‘No,’ was her simple reply and John felt himself stop breathing.

‘No. I won’t marry a crazy fifty-three-year-old-idiot,’ she stated, folding her arms tightly.

John rose to his feet, rejection and heartache already beginning to kick in as he stared at the love of his life.

‘But-’

His eyes sparkled with hope at the single word and he held his breath in anticipation.

‘I will marry the adorable, sweet, caring shutterbug that managed to shed sunshine through my dark days when I felt myself slipping away from the world. The man who loved me when nobody else wanted me and saw my pain, taking it upon himself to replace it with laughter and joy…’

She stood up on shaky feet. John held her around the waist as she balanced herself on one foot.

‘Yes, I will marry you!’ she exclaimed, happily.

John smiled, the widest he had ever smiled and took her up into his arms, spinning her around the room. She laughed wholeheartedly and when he set her down, he kissed her with all the love he could muster and slipped the ring onto her finger.

‘I love you, Clara,’ he whispered, holding her tight.

‘I love you too, you silly old man,’ she chuckled.

‘Amy is going to freak when she hears the news. Can’t imagine how the hospital is going to be when I’m on my honeymoon,’ she babbled happily. That’s when John remembered the letter from earlier.

‘I uh… found this in the mailbox. Took the liberty of opening it… sorry,’ he confessed and apologized at the same time.

Clara playfully punched him in the arm and opened it, her eyes growing wide as she read the text. She started at John and then back at the paper in her small palm.

‘Oh my God!’ she shouted in surprise.

John grinned at her and handed her, his phone.

‘Call Amy and tell her the news!’ he encouraged.

It took two rings before Amy answered.

‘Hey, is everything alright?’ asked her friend, sleepily.

‘Yes and yes!’ she shouted into the speaker.

‘Okay, you’re super happy. What happened?!’

Clara looked at John with a bright smile and calmly announced, ‘John and I are getting married and say hello to your new Head of department of A&E.’

The anxious screaming on Amy’s side of the call, was loud and clear and the two women began yammering on about karma and future wedding plans.

John eventually yanked the phone from Clara and spoke into the speaker, ‘Amy, I’m sorry to cut you short but my air-time is running low and I’m impatient to make love to my wife-to-be. We’ll all chat tomorrow, yeah?’ 

He tossed the phone aside and scooped Clara up, gently resting her on the bed.

‘But my leg…’ she whined.

‘Oh don’t worry… I’ll make sure I’m real careful but I can’t promise I won’t make you scream,’ he said with a wink.

Clara laughed and pulled him into a hug.

‘Promise me one thing, John.’

‘Yes?’

‘Never let me go.’

He kissed the top of her head and sighed happily.

‘I’ll never let you go.’

THE END


End file.
